Fresh off the commissioner’s exempt list, Josh Jacobs will play in his first game on Sunday since his arrest on charges of domestic violence earlier this year.
The Green Bay Packers running back landed on the list following the alleged incident, missing the team’s first six games.
But the team activated him on Saturday, and he will likely be the team’s lead back in their NFC North matchup against the Detroit Lions.
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The league continues to investigate Jacobs’ situation despite Jacobs’ plea of no contest to both misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor criminal damage to property. Jacobs being removed from the list doesn’t hinder the investigation, the NFL has noted, but he is allowed back with the Packers.
Jacobs was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list Aug. 30, three days after charges were filed against him. His status on the commissioner’s exempt list prevented him from playing or practicing, but he still could prepare himself in other ways.
“He could go to meetings,” head coach Matt LaFleur said earlier this week. “He could lift with our strength coaches and condition with them. He couldn’t go to any of the team activities – the practices and what not.”
Green Bay (4-2) has won three straight, but is averaging just 59.8 yards rushing per game – 16.2 fewer than anyone else. The Packers also are last in the league in yards per carry (2.9). MarShawn Lloyd, Kaleb Johnson and Pierre Strong Jr. all have been given chances to establish themselves. None have been productive.
Jacobs ran for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns while gaining 4 yards per carry last year. That followed a 2024 season in which he rushed for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns while making the Pro Bowl.
Jacobs spoke with reporters earlier this week, expressing remorse for his actions.
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“Excited to be back with the team, with the guys,” he said during his media availability. “I want to say thank you to the organization really for supporting me throughout this whole process and how everything played out.
“With that being said, I can’t really get into a lot of things, like specifics of things, but obviously I’m remorseful, and sorry for putting this (team) in this situation.
“Sometimes, when you go through life, situations occur, and a four-second, three-second decision can alter your life honestly. With that being said, still a human being, man, still trying to learn, still trying to grow from the whole process. Actually learned a lot throughout this whole process, legally and just personally.”
Jacobs also filed a civil suit last week calling for an injunction and a protective order surrounding evidence, specifically surveillance footage of the incident, which would restrict access to records of the case.
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The Packers and Lions kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET.
OutKick’s Scott Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.