Packers expect Josh Jacobs to play this season, prepared if he doesn’t

GREEN BAY – Before Brian Gutekunst decides Josh Jacobs’ future with the Green Bay Packers, the general manager is intent on letting the legal process unfold.

Gutekunst said he’s uncertain if Jacobs will play for the Packers this season after he was placed on the exempt list over the weekend, though he remains hopeful the running back will return to the field.

“Certainly we would expect that,” Gutekunst said. “But we’re going to let this process play out, and we’ll be prepared either way.”

Jacobs’ immediate future is dependent on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who holds sole authority in determining the indefinite timeline of a players’ stint on the exempt list. If the Packers have any hints at how long that will be, they aren’t sharing.

Gutekunst could inject more clarity if he were to release Jacobs, but he’s in no rush to do so.

“I think we’ll let the process play out before we make any kind of those decisions,” Gutekunst said, when asked if Jacobs might be released, “but we’ll see.”

Jacobs was placed on the exempt list Aug. 30, two days after the Brown County Distract Attorney’s office levied two misdemeanor charges resulting from a late May arrest. Jacobs’ charges included one count of battery and another of criminal damage to property.

The District Attorney’s report referenced video surveillance from Jacobs’ home showing him throwing a woman to the ground, which resulted in a bump on the women’s head. It also stated Jacobs destroyed the woman’s phone.

Gutekunst said he has not seen the video evidence.

“Those are legal things going on right now,” Gutekunst said. “So we’ll let those play out. That’s really not for us. At the appropriate times, if those things become available, we’ll figure that stuff out when the time comes.”

The exempt list allows for players to be in team facilities for meetings. Coach Matt LaFleur said Jacobs still will be around the team, and the team has not changed how it feels about its running back.

“I don’t want to get too far into it,” LaFleur said, “but I think we all have seen this guy. I have a lot of love and care for how is as a person, who he is as a teammate. Obviously a very unfortunate situation, but one that we have to deal with.”

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

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Here’s the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster in pictures

LaFleur said he doesn’t know all the details of what happened, but he has had “many conversations” with Jacobs. The coach said he “believes” in Jacobs and “trusts him.”

“I’m going to do that until proven otherwise,” LaFleur said.

In the three months since Jacobs’ arrest, Gutekunst said, he’s closely monitored the Packers running back position, ready to augment the depth chart if necessary. On the same day Jacobs was placed on the exempt list, Gutekunst traded for Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson.

A third-round draft pick in 2025, Johnson rushed for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns as a college junior at Iowa. He quickly found himself buried behind veterans on the Steelers depth chart. Gutekunst is hopeful a change of scenery can benefit both sides.

“From the very beginning when this all kind of first transpired,” Gutekunst said, “we’ve been looking at different options and investigating some things. Whether that’s this summer, whether that’s as training camp started, a lot of conversations. We knew kind of going into it that this might be a possibility. Once we got the information that we did, we kind of knew what the options were at the moment and made the decisions that we made.

“We’re excited to get Kaleb in here. Obviously a young player with huge upside, and we’re excited to get him into our environment and see what he can do.”

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

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Green Bay Packers 2026 schedule in photos

Gutekunst acknowledged it will take time for Johnson to acclimate to coach Matt LaFleur’s scheme, but he said Iowa runs a similar outside-zone system. He hopes that will accelerate Johnson’s transition.

In the meantime, the Packers also will rely heavily on young tailback MarShawn Lloyd. A 2024 third-round draft pick, Lloyd has played only 10 snaps in his first two NFL seasons because of injuries, but he exited training camp healthy. Part of the process of keeping him healthy was light work in the preseason. Lloyd had just 10 carries for 30 yards in a pair of preseason games before being shut down for the finale against Arizona. He added an 11-yard touchdown catch on the opening drive at the Denver Broncos.

“He’s as ready as he’s ever been since he’s been here,” Gutekunst said. “He looks good. He’s handling all the physicality, the things that he needs to as a running back. I think it was good to get him out there and feel that. I think one of the things, particularly running backs or ball carriers, receivers, tight ends, when they haven’t played a lot, just protecting the ball, taking the hits, all those kinds of things it takes. You need some of that to be ready. I think he’s ready. I think he’s obviously really eager.

“He’s a running back in the National Football League. To think that he’s not going to get dinged up and play through that going forward would be naïve. I think his mind is right, he’s ready to go, and we’re excited to see what he can do. I think each week he can be out there, you’re going to see the better and better of MarShawn.”

This article originally appeared on Packers News: Packers expect Josh Jacobs to play this season, prepared if he doesn’t