GREEN BAY, Wis. — The saga isn’t over, but there’s a new development in the legal investigation surrounding Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs
According to Netflix’s Tom Pelissero, Jacobs, who was originally booked on five charges, has seen them reduced by the Brown County District Attorney. He still faces two misdemeanors—battery and criminal damage to property. Prosecutors determined that the charges do not include domestic violence, and decided not to move forward with Jacobs’ felony charge.
On Saturday, May 23, the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department was dispatched to the scene of a domestic dispute involving the 28-year-old Jacobs. After a subsequent investigation, Jacobs turned himself in and was booked into Brown County Jail on five charges, one of which is a felony:
Battery — Domestic Abuse
Criminal Damage to Property — Domestic Abuse
Disorderly Conduct — Domestic Abuse
Strangulation and Suffocation
Intimidation of a Victim
The fact that three of the five charges were dropped—including the most detrimental felony charge of strangulation and suffocation—could suggest that the investigation didn’t obtain enough evidence to support them. However, if Jacobs is convicted, both charges carry a maximum sentence of nine months in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.
According to the Brown County District Attorney’s incident report obtained by The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, Jacobs assaulted the victim by shoving her to the ground. In doing so, she suffered an injury to her head.
Head coach Matt LaFleur and Jacobs’ teammates have been relatively tight-lipped on the matter while the investigation was ongoing. The Packers likely won’t comment, considering Jacobs still could face potential punishment for violating the league’s Personal Conduct Policy, whether it’s a fine or a potential suspension. That’s something that general manager Brian Gutekunst said on Wednesday that the team is prepared for.
“I’m pretty confident we can sustain it,” Gutekunst said of the Packers’ running back room before the joint practice with the Arizona Cardinals. “We’ll deal with that when that comes. We’ve been preparing for that in case that happens, but at the same time, I feel really good about the guys we have in that room, and I think we can survive that.”
Jacobs is entering the third year of the four-year deal worth $48 million dollars that he signed with the Packers in the spring of 2024. He's played 34 games in total for the Packers—32 in the regular season and two playoff games—and has amassed 31 touchdowns from scrimmage. His production dipped last season—he played in two fewer games and logged 67 fewer attempts—while battling a knee injury that plagued him across the final two months of the year. Jacobs still managed to eclipse 1,200 yards from scrimmage for the sixth time in seven seasons and averaged more than four yards per carry for the fourth time in the last five years.
While Jacobs has been shelved with a groin injury for a chunk of training camp, the Packers have leaned on a room of MarShawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks, Pierre Strong Jr., Damien Martinez, and Jaden Nixon.
Lloyd has rushed 10 times for 30 yards through two exhibition contests while starting with the Packers’ No. 1 offense, but he found the end zone for the first time in his career on an 11-yard reception against the Denver Broncos last week. Assuming Jacobs is available to begin the season, Lloyd projects to be his primary backup. Brooks is etched into the backfield as the team’s No. 3 tailback, almost exclusively utilized on passing downs because of his prowess as a blocker.