GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs pleaded no contest Thursday to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property stemming from a May altercation with his girlfriend during which she said he threw her to the ground.
Jacobs must pay a $1,000 fine plus court costs for the battery charge. Under an agreement with prosecutors, the criminal damage charge can be dismissed in a year if he fulfills terms that include staying out of trouble, avoiding the victim in this case, submitting to supervision, completing counseling and paying restitution to the victim.
“I fully understand the seriousness of the situation, and I take full responsibility,” Jacobs said during an appearance in a Brown County court.
Jacobs was arrested May 26, three days after Hobart-Lawrence police officers came to his Wisconsin home to investigate a disturbance. According to police, the woman told them that Jacobs grabbed her and threw her to the ground as she was trying to exit a garage door, causing her to hit her head. Police said Jacobs also took her phone from her while she was on the ground.
Police said they noticed redness on her face and neck and could feel a bump on the back of her head.
According to a criminal complaint, the woman’s statement was corroborated by surveillance footage from the camera system in the garage where the incident occurred.
Jacobs was charged in late August and the NFL subsequently placed him on the commissioner’s exempt list, which prevents the three-time Pro Bowl running back from playing or practicing but allows him to keep receiving a paycheck. Players on the commissioner’s exempt list may be allowed at team facilities for meetings, individual workouts, therapy and rehabilitation and other non-football activities.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Thursday that the league is monitoring the case, which is being reviewed under the league personal conduct policy, and Jacobs remains on the exempt list. The Packers had no immediate comment.
Jacobs could face a league suspension.
David Chesnoff, one of the lawyers representing Jacobs, said the running back already has begun counseling.
“This plea reflects Josh’s acknowledgement of his actions and his acceptance of responsibility for these actions,” Chesnoff said. “There are significant consequences for Josh, and he intends to meet all the requirements the court imposes under these negotiations.”
According to the criminal complaint, Jacobs’ girlfriend told police she had been looking through Jacobs’ phone and saw he was talking to other women, and that she threw his phone in anger without breaking it. She told police that Jacobs had her phone and she told him he could look through it.
Police said the woman indicated she tried to retrieve her phone from Jacobs, but he grabbed her arm. They left the home in separate vehicles but eventually returned, and the woman later grabbed a second phone from a duffle bag. That led to the events in which she was trying to exit a garage door.
Jacobs entered his plea three days before the Packers open the season at Minnesota.
He is coming off a 2025 season during which he rushed for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns. That followed a 2024 season in which he ran for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns while earning his third Pro Bowl selection.
Green Bay has no other running backs who rushed for more than 106 yards last season.
The only other running backs currently on Green Bay’s 53-man roster are MarShawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks and Kaleb Johnson. The Packers acquired Johnson from Pittsburgh the day that Jacobs was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list.
Lloyd is a 2024 third-round pick who has played just one game over the last two seasons due to a variety of injuries, but he is healthy now. Lloyd said Jacobs has offered him advice about this upcoming game by telling him to “just stay where your feet are” and to “just be yourself.”
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