The Green Bay Packers have received a legal update on star running back Josh Jacobs ahead of their Thursday Night Football clash with the Atlanta Falcons.
According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, the Wisconsin judge who presided over Jacobs’ criminal case has denied the victim’s request to “permanently seal” all evidence and discovery materials related to the case and will instead turn the matter over to the Hobart/Lawrence police department, which initially arrested Jacobs in May 2026.
“Brown County (Wisconsin) District Court judge Marc A. Hammer made the determination during a hearing Thursday,” Demovsky wrote. “When his order goes into effect on Friday, it will cancel a temporary order to seal that he issued on Sept. 10.
“However, it does not mean the records, which include surveillance video outlined in the criminal report that states a portion of the incident was caught on camera, will be immediately released. Instead, the Hobart/Lawrence police department will handle any new requests made under public records laws.”
Jacobs remains on the NFL’s commissioner exempt list and is ineligible to play or practice for the Packers until the league decides to remove him from the list.
NFL Has Sought to Review Video in Josh Jacobs Case
The unsealing of the evidence is relevant to the NFL’s review of Jacobs’ legal situation.
The league has been attempting to review the video evidence from the May 23 domestic abuse incident at Jacobs’ home in Green Bay. The incident resulted in Jacobs’ arrest on five charges, but the Brown County (Wisconsin) District Attorney’s office held off on filing charges — two misdemeanors — until August when it completed its investigation.
Jacobs pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property during his September 10 court appearance. He was convicted on the battery charge and fined $1,000, but he agreed to a deferred judgment on the latter charge.
The NFL, however, conducts its own investigations into whether a player may have violated its personal conduct policy and hands down punishments independently, which is why the league has been keen to get its hands on video of the incident at Jacobs’ home.
The league will have a renewed opportunity to obtain the video when the judge’s order goes into effect on Friday, September 25, but it must still receive permission to review the evidence from the Hobart/Lawrence police department — which is not guaranteed.
The judge’s decision not to seal the evidence grants the NFL a new window of opportunity to review the footage starting on Friday, September 25, but they must still receive permission from the Hobart/Lawrence police department
Josh Jacobs Banking Time Toward Potential Suspension
The NFL could still suspend Jacobs for his offseason legal troubles, but the 28-year-old running back will benefit from banked time in this particular situation.
Under the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, any regular-season or postseason games that a player misses while on the commissioner exempt list count toward any suspension the league might eventually hand down.
In other words, Jacobs will have already banked at least three games — counting Week 3’s clash against the Falcons on Thursday Night Football — by the time the NFL determines whether his off-field legal trouble warrants further punishment.
So if the league announces a six-game suspension for Jacobs next week, he will only need to sit out three more games before he is eligible to return to play for the Packers.
Packers Get Legal Update on RB Josh Jacobs Ahead of TNF Clash