The Green Bay Packers still have no clarity on when running back Josh Jacobs might return and help salvage, to at least some degree, what has been the worst run game in the NFL through four contests. But the team did add to the position group this week ahead of a showdown at Lambeau Field against the rival Chicago Bears.
“LB Kristian Welch is back on the Packers roster with Edgerrin Cooper going to IR,” Rob Demovsky of ESPN reported via X on Tuesday, October 6. “Also RB Damon Bankston is back on the practice squad.”
Bankston is a 23-year-old undrafted rookie out of New Mexico who landed with the New York Giants initially before catching on in Green Bay. He put up 635 rushing yards and five TDs on the ground in college as well as 31 catches for 397 yards and three scores through the air.
Green Bay signed Bankston to the practice squad on September 9 before releasing him 20 days later. He was off the PS for one week before the Packers added him back Tuesday.
Packers RB Josh Jacobs’ Return Timeline Remains Unclear
Meanwhile, Jacobs remains on the Commissioner’s Exempt List and has missed four games to date.
Thus far, the Green Bay RB is receiving each of his game checks, as designation to that list is the equivalent of paid leave. However, the league office has stashed him there while it reviews his legal case stemming from a domestic incident in May, which ended with a no contest plea to two misdemeanor charges — one each of battery and criminal damage to property.
Jacobs will face no jail time, though he is likely to receive a punishment from the league in the form of a suspension. The NFL has attempted to gain access to video that captured part of the incident between Jacobs and his former girlfriend via a garage camera.
That footage would inform the league further as to the precise nature of Jacobs’ actions and could subsequently impact the discipline he faces. Some recent educated guesses include a suspension lasting between 6-8 games based on the nature of Jacobs’ off-field transgressions and how the league has historically dealt with such actions.
If the NFL does suspend Jacobs, the games he has already missed will count as time served, though the running back will have to return all of the compensation from his 2026 game checks to this point as part of the punishment.
No Packers RBs Have Eclipsed 100 Yards Rushing on Season Through 4 Games
The Packers were a little better running the football in their 17-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, gaining 86 yards on 25 carries as a team.
Prior to that, the Packers had amassed fewer than 150 yards across three games and failed to score a rushing TD. Green Bay also did not score on the ground in Tampa Bay over the weekend.
The Packers remain last in the league in rushing by a wide margin with just 58 yards per game through Week 4. The Cincinnati Bengals are 31st in that category at 74.3 yards per contest.
Green Bay traded with the Pittsburgh Steelers for running back Kaleb Johnson earlier this season, who joined a group that also includes MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks.
Lloyd has 81 yards on 30 carries, Johnson has 80 yards on 20 carries and Brooks has 70 yards on 15 carries. Wide receiver Matthew Golden has added six rushing yards, while tight end Tucker Kraft has amassed three rushing yards. Quarterback Jordan Love is responsible for -8 rushing yards, per ESPN statistics.
Packers Reunite With RB Amid Josh Jacobs Uncertainty