The Green Bay Packers have officially lost starting running back Josh Jacobs to NFL action for the foreseeable future on the same day that they made a trade for a new running back.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL is placing Jacobs on the Commissioner’s Exempt List as it continues to review the legal situation surrounding the Packers’ veteran running back and the two criminal misdemeanor charges brought against him last week.
“Last week, Jacobs was charged with battery and criminal damage to property, both misdemeanors, by the Brown County (Wisconsin) District Attorney,” Schefter wrote Sunday on X. “Jacobs was originally arrested May 26 on five counts, including one felony.”
A cloud has hung over Jacobs and the Packers for the past several months in the aftermath of his May arrest in connection with a domestic dispute. While police released Jacobs shortly after his arrest, the Brown County DA’s Office stated it would further review the incident and could later press charges, which it did on August 27.
Josh Jacobs Cannot Practice or Attend Packers’ Games
Jacobs is not allowed to practice or attend games for the Packers while he is on the Commissioner’s Exempt List. According to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, though, the NFL said that “upon request and with the club’s permission, he may be present at the club’s facility on a reasonable basis for meetings, individual workouts, therapy and rehabilitation and other permitted non-football activites.”
Jacobs’ attorneys — David Z. Chesnoff, Richard A Schonfeld and Clarence F. Duchac III — also released a statement on the running back’s behalf after the NFL’s announcement, calling it “administrative procedure” and “not a final determination.”
“Josh Jacobs has been placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, which is an administrative procedure used by the NFL while a matter is being reviewed,” Jacobs’ attorneys wrote in a statement, via The Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Ryan Wood. “It is not a final determination. Josh respects the NFL process, the Packers and his Coaches and Teammates. He looks forward to his return to the team and the NFL.”
The NFL is likely to leave Jacobs on the Commissioner’s Exempt List until the courts resolve his legal situation in Wisconsin. The league could also still decide to suspend him at a later date regardless of the legal outcome, as it conducts its own independent investigations into issues related to its player conduct policy.
Packers Made Trade With Steelers for RB Kaleb Johnson
The Packers made it clear before the latest development with Jacobs that they were preparing for the possibility of not having their star running back available for the start of the 2026 regular season on September 13.
That resulted in legitimate action before the cut deadline on Sunday afternoon.
According to The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero, the Packers are acquiring running back Kaleb Johnson, a 2025 third-round pick, from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in exchange for a 2028 sixth-round pick.
Johnson came into the league as one of the more highly touted backs in the 2025 NFL draft class, but he floundered in his first season with the Steelers. He failed to secure a meaningful role in the running back rotation, gaining just 69 yards on 28 carries over 10 games. He also had a brutal kickoff blunder in the second game of the season, resulting in his demotion from special teams as a kick returner.
The Packers will now fold Johnson into their running back rotation alongside MarShawn Lloyd — a 2024 third-round pick who is finally healthy — and backup Chris Brooks until Jacobs is back on the field.
Packers Lose Josh Jacobs to NFL Action After Making RB Trade