The Green Bay Packers don’t know when they might get Josh Jacobs back into the lineup, and the NFL rules are murky and unilateral enough that it is not entirely out of the question that the running back misses most, if not all, of the 2026 campaign.
Jacobs faced a couple of misdemeanor charges, one for battery and one for criminal damage to property, following a domestic incident with his former girlfriend in Wisconsin back in May. He pleaded no contest to both charges on September 10, after which the judge handed down punishments that do not include jail time.
The RB’s lawyers expedited the hearing in order to wrap the matter up prior to the start of the regular season, which they accomplished. The NFL has typically handed out suspensions in the realm of six games for the type of off-field concerns Jacobs’ actions bring with them.
So that was the assumption around the league — that commissioner Roger Goodell would issue a six-to-eight game suspension without pay and Jacobs would return at some point between Weeks 7-9. But with Week 6 just around the corner, the NFL has issued no ruling and Jacobs remains on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, which is the equivalent of paid leave.
The reason involves video footage of the interaction between Jacobs and his former girlfriend, which the league wants to review before making its determinations. The victim in the case asked the court to seal that evidence permanently, which would have ended the matter. But the judge declined, referring that decision back to the investigating police department that collected the evidence.
There was both an update on that process as well as the revelation of a stipulation in the league’s code of conduct policy on Tuesday that indicate Jacobs’ absence could stretch on indefinitely.
NFL Still Unable to Review Video Evidence From Josh Jacobs’ Legal Case
First, Rob Demovsky of ESPN authored a summary of the police department’s decision on the NFL’s petition to view the evidence via a public records request.
To summarize, they determined that “certain records could be released with appropriate redactions” but that one or more parties (presumably Jacobs
“An update from the Hobart/Lawrence police department in response to a FOIA request by ESPN for the records in the Josh Jacobs case,” Demovsky posted to X Tuesday, October 13. “To summarize, they determined that ‘certain records could be released with appropriate redactions’ but that one or more parties (presumably Jacobs and/or the victim) have appealed that decision and therefore nothing will be immediately released.”
More or less, that means it could be several more weeks, or even months, before the process is complete and the police release the footage to the NFL — if they ever do. And while this holds off any suspension for Jacobs and allows him to continue on in gainful employment as a member of the Packers organization, it also creates an ongoing obstacle to his return to the field.
NFL May Attempt to Force Josh Jacobs Into Revealing Video Evidence, Even if Legal Process Permanently Seals It
Ken Ingalls, who studies the Green Bay salary cap and reports/posts his work on social media, noted another quirk in the case that fans may sometimes forget, or may not be aware of in the first place.
“Josh Jacobs still sits on the Exempt List, and the video release is still the holdup,” Ingalls posted to X on Tuesday. “The league operates on their own standards. Even if the video gets sealed by the legal process, they can still ask/expect Jacobs to willingly share this to them as part of their investigation.”
The league can, and has, demanded access to players’ and coaches’ phone records and other private information in the course of previous investigations involving its code of conduct policy.
It is unclear whether Jacobs still has any copy of the video evidence in question in his possession. If he does, and if the court seals it as evidence not to be shared publicly, which would benefit Jacobs and also appears to be what he wants based on Demovsky’s report, it is unclear if the NFL could legally compel the running back to hand over that footage by holding his career hostage.
The unfortunate point for Packers fans is that the sport’s worst run game through five weeks (60.4 yards per game average and two touchdowns total) does not appear likely to welcome back its RB1 anytime soon.
Packers Could Lose Josh Jacobs for Much Longer Than Expected Due to NFL Rule