Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs is facing multiple misdemeanor charges stemming from an alleged incident in May involving his then girlfriend, which has also brought Jacobs’ immediate NFL future into question.
Given that the league could decide either to suspend Jacobs or put him on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, which would place the RB on paid leave while his legal team settles his court issues, there is considerable reason now for the Packers to explore the addition of another rusher to the offensive backfield.
One strong option is James Conner, a two-time Pro Bowler with the Arizona Cardinals who is liable to start the year as that team’s RB3 assuming rookie and No. 3 overall pick Jeremiah Love begins the campaign healthy after suffering an ankle sprain earlier in the preseason.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell and Mike Clay discussed Conner’s future, likely with a new team in 2026, and the Packers came up early in the conversation with Jacobs’ situation serving as a caveat.
“I did predict that James Conner will lead another team in rushing during the 2026 season,” Barnwell said on the July 30 edition of his podcast. “Can you guess which team that is?”
“The Packers,” Clay responded.
Barnwell acknowledged that Green Bay could make sense, though he was actually thinking of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“People may have raised an eyebrow when I said Packers,” Clay added. “It’s obviously the Josh Jacobs legal stuff going on there. … We’ll see how that plays out.”
Conner has one year remaining on his contract and would cost Green Bay around $2.5 million. He played in just three games last season due to a foot injury but eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing in both 2023 and 2024. Conner will play the upcoming campaign at 31 years old.
Josh Jacobs’ Immediate Playing Future for Packers Clouded by Possible NFL Punishment
Jacobs is facing one misdemeanor charge of battery and another misdemeanor charge of criminal damage to property.
Thus, while it is possible he could face jail time if convicted, he certainly isn’t staring down the barrel of the same kind of punishment that former Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold will be if found guilty on four felony counts of kidnapping and four felony counts of armed robbery in Florida.
But from the perspective of the NFL’s personal code of conduct policy, the situations are more similar. Even though Jacobs isn’t facing explicit charges of domestic violence, for which he was initially arrested, the case involves an element of alleged violence on Jacobs’ part against a female person, which the league has come to take quite seriously in recent years with regards to its doling out of discipline.
Jacobs also remains embroiled in the legal process, already arrested and now formally charged, though highly unlikely to reach any criminal resolution before the Packers take the field Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, September 13.
Given the likely ambiguity of the outcome of the legal process in the immediate days ahead, the league could err on the side of caution and put Jacobs on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, as it has done with Arnold.
MarShawn Lloyd Likely Starter if Josh Jacobs Suspended, Packers Don’t Add Another RB
Behind Jacobs on the depth chart are MarShawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks and Pierre Strong Jr.
Strong is a cut candidate when the Packers trim the roster down to the initial 53 players, though Green Bay could decide simply to keep Strong and see how Jacobs’ issues play out over the next couple of weeks.
But while Strong has some explosive quality to his game, having averaged 5.0 yards per carry over the course of his career and could also prove an asset in the return game, he is not a bonafide starting running back. Brooks has also failed to prove himself a true RB1, while Lloyd has been so injured that the third-round pick has appeared in just one contest across his first two professional campaigns.
Given all that, it is unclear if the Packers have a true starting back on the roster absent Jacobs, who battled injury concerns of his own last season and took a step back production-wise because of it — a decline that may or may not continue into 2026.
Thus, the addition of a player like Conner is simply sensible at this point considering the unknowns involving Jacobs’ availability, Lloyd’s health and the viability of any other player currently on the roster as a lead RB.
As noted earlier, Conner will cost around $2.5 million on the salary cap sheet and should not require more than a Day 3 draft asset in trade if the Cardinals put him on the market.
Packers Trade Pitch Nets 2-Time Pro Bowl RB as Josh Jacobs Insurance