Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs will be removed from the NFL’s Commissioner Exempt list on Monday, ESPN reported Friday, and is expected to be eligible to play in Week 7.
The league’s investigation will remain open, so the NFL reserves the right to add further discipline if and when it is warranted, according to ESPN.
Jacobs was placed on the list Aug. 30, days after the Brown County district attorney charged him with two misdemeanors, battery and damage to property. The charges stemmed from a May 23 altercation with a woman at his home, and he was arrested three days later. Police had referred five possible charges, including strangulation and suffocation, but prosecutors filed only the two.
At the time, Jacobs’ attorneys called the exempt list an administrative step while the league reviewed the matter. “It is not a final determination,” they said.
On Sept. 10, Jacobs pleaded no contest to both charges. He was fined $1,000 plus court costs on the battery count, and the property damage count will be dismissed in 12 months if he meets the terms of the agreement, which include counseling and paying restitution. “I fully understand the seriousness of the situation, and I take full responsibility,” Jacobs said in court. Since then, both he and the woman have gone to court to keep video and records of the incident from being released, including to the NFL.
Players on the exempt list can’t practice or attend games, and Jacobs has missed all five of Green Bay’s games. The Packers are 3-2 without him, and MarShawn Lloyd ran for two touchdowns in a 31-7 win over the Chicago Bears in Week 5.
Green Bay hosts the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, the sixth game Jacobs will miss. His first game back would come Oct. 25 against the Detroit Lions.
Jacobs signed a four-year, $48 million deal with the Packers in 2024 and made the Pro Bowl that season after running for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns. Last season, he had 929 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 15 games.
