Josh Jacobs

Introduction

Josh Jacobs, the Green Bay Packers’ star running back and the NFL’s 2022 rushing yards leader, was convicted of misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property on Sept. 10, 2026, after entering no-contest pleas in a domestic incident at his Brown County, Wisconsin home. The league barred him from practicing or playing for the first six weeks of the season on the commissioner exempt list, cleared his return on Oct. 19, and its personal-conduct investigation remains open. On Oct. 30, 2026, a redacted Hobart-Lawrence Police Department case file released to NBC 26 revealed that at least three other women contacted detectives during the May investigation to report their own alleged physical incidents with Jacobs — previously unreported abuse allegations stretching back to 2021. Jacobs’s attorneys responded on Oct. 31, 2026, calling the additional accounts “uncorroborated” and “old” and pointing to the district attorney’s earlier decision to charge only two misdemeanors, while the NFL said it will review the allegations within its still-open investigation. In a second statement on Nov. 1, 2026, the attorneys denied all three accounts outright and accused the police department of releasing the file without any investigation into the claims. Jacobs spoke for himself on Nov. 4, 2026, calling the released accounts “an attack on me and who I am and my character” that are “completely false” and “completely made up,” and saying he is not worried about missing any more game time.

Background Information

Joshua Cordell Jacobs was born February 11, 1998, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He attended McLain High School in Tulsa, where he rushed for 5,372 yards and 56 touchdowns, and he experienced homelessness in middle school; his story was later featured in a Kia commercial that aired during Super Bowl LIV.

Jacobs played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2016 to 2018, was named MVP of the 2018 SEC Championship Game, and was part of Alabama’s 2017 College Football Playoff national championship team. The Oakland Raiders selected him in the first round, 24th overall, in the 2019 NFL draft. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team in 2019 and to his first Pro Bowl in 2020, and in 2022 led the NFL in rushing with 1,653 yards while becoming the first Raider since 1985 to surpass 2,000 scrimmage yards in a season, earning him first-team All-Pro honors.

After five years with the Raiders, Jacobs signed a four-year, $48 million contract with the Green Bay Packers in March 2024. He rushed for 1,329 yards and a career-high 15 touchdowns in 2024 and added 939 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 2025, giving him 7,803 career rushing yards and 74 rushing touchdowns through 2025.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Adjudicated vs. alleged. Jacobs’s convictions on misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property — entered through no-contest pleas on Sept. 10, 2026 — are a matter of court record. The accounts three other women gave police in June and July 2026, made public in the released case file, are allegations: none has produced charges or any court finding. Jacobs’s attorneys called the additional accounts “uncorroborated” and “old” on Oct. 31, 2026, and denied all three outright in a second statement on Nov. 1; Jacobs himself called the accounts “completely false” and “completely made up” on Nov. 4, 2026; the women’s accounts themselves remain unadjudicated.

On May 26, 2026, Jacobs was arrested by the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department in Brown County, Wisconsin, stemming from an incident on May 23. He was booked on five domestic battery-related charges and released from jail the next day, May 27, with the investigation remaining pending.

According to reports, dispatch audio later revealed reports of yelling, items being thrown, and a possible assault inside the residence before Jacobs was tracked by law enforcement and booked into the Brown County Jail.

In late August 2026, Jacobs was formally charged with battery and criminal damage to property, both misdemeanors in Wisconsin. Per the criminal complaint, authorities alleged they obtained video showing Jacobs putting his hands on his girlfriend during a heated dispute at his home in May, and investigators alleged he grabbed the woman and “threw her to the ground,” causing injury, and was seen on video taking her phone and appearing to damage it.

At the plea hearing on Sept. 10, 2026, Jacobs entered no-contest pleas to both misdemeanor counts. When the judge asked whether the information in the probable-cause section of the criminal complaint was “true and correct,” Jacobs answered “yes,” stated he understood “the seriousness of the situation,” and said he was taking “full responsibility” for his actions. He was sentenced to a $1,000 fine plus costs on the battery count, and the sentence on the criminal-damage count was suspended.

On Oct. 16, 2026, with Jacobs six games into his exempt-list absence, the NFL announced he will be removed from the list on Oct. 19. “The league’s review remains ongoing and is not affected by this change to Jacobs’ roster status,” the league said in a statement, which noted the NFL can “add further discipline if and when warranted.” The move came one day after Jacobs filed an injunction against the Hobart police to block the release of evidence in the case, including security-camera footage of the incident, and reports said the league has yet to see the surveillance video from inside his home, though other footage captured part of the altercation in his garage.

The fuller record emerged on Oct. 30, 2026, when the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department released a heavily redacted case file — along with body-camera, dash-camera and squad-car video of the arrest — to NBC 26 in response to a public records request. The department released the file Friday night, and NBC 26 first reported its contents, with the Associated Press and other outlets corroborating.

The bodycam footage itself was published on Oct. 31: it shows Jacobs stepping out of a vehicle in the hoodie he would wear in his mugshot, turning and placing his hands over his head while an officer pats him down, then being handcuffed and escorted to a squad car. Asked whether he had anything on him, Jacobs said no; asked about his phone, he said his attorneys had it. “This morning, they told me to give it to them because the intention was we were going to turn ourself in, see how it goes,” Jacobs told the officer, per the footage.

Per the file, one woman contacted investigators in June 2026 after learning of the May case, saying the allegations sounded similar to her own experience with him. She said she met Jacobs through Instagram and communicated with him for roughly six months before spending about 11 hours at his home in January 2022; after she told him she had not come there for sex, she said, he became angry, slapped her across the face and told her not to disrespect him. She told police he grabbed her by the hair, threw her onto a bed, pinned her down and threw her to the floor, said “I should kill you right now,” spat on her and grabbed her by the throat, and took her cellphone and threw it into a swimming pool when she tried to leave. She said she had remained friends with Jacobs afterward and feared she would not be believed, but came forward because she believed it showed a pattern of behavior matching the May allegations.

A second woman contacted police in June 2026 about an argument in April 2021: after she told Jacobs he needed to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases when a condom broke, she said, he removed her from the residence, grabbed her by the arms and biceps, pushed her against a wall near a window and threw her belongings outside. She said she suffered bruising to her arms and pain and swelling in her rib area, and had called police at the time but was told the encounter was not being investigated as a domestic incident because the two were not in a relationship. Records from that call indicated responding officers observed “no visible signs of injury, bruising or damage consistent with a physical altercation.”

A third woman told detectives by phone in July 2026 that Jacobs flew her to his residence in May 2022 after they met through social media, then grabbed her by the hair, placed his hands on her head and neck, dragged her, scratched her chest and took her cellphone after it fell to the floor. She said bruises on her arm and scratches to her chest and neck remained visible for about a month, and that she did not report the incident or seek treatment at the time because she was not a U.S. citizen and Jacobs told her she could be deported; police received her information from the woman in the May 2026 case.

The released file also added detail to the May 23, 2026 incident itself. Per the criminal complaint, the woman told police Jacobs grabbed and threw her to the ground as she tried to exit through a garage door, causing her to hit her head, and took her phone while she was on the ground; she said he lunged at her, pinned her on a bed with his body weight on her chest and put his hand over her mouth and nose so she could not breathe, and that she believed she briefly lost consciousness in the garage. Officers documented redness and what appeared to be scratches on her head and scalp, and she told investigators she believed she was going to die, according to the records.

On Oct. 31, 2026, Jacobs’s attorneys — David Z. Chesnoff, Richard A. Schonfeld and Clarence F. Duchac III — issued a statement to news organizations including the Associated Press responding to the newly reported accounts: “The Brown County District Attorney’s office had these uncorroborated, old, and previously unreported allegations for months. They conducted their own exhaustive investigation, along with the police department, and the D.A. determined that only two misdemeanor charges were warranted. They then entered into a plea agreement with Josh Jacobs. Josh has repeatedly expressed his remorse and is honoring the terms of the agreement.” That marked a shift from Oct. 16, when his attorneys had said that “since there are ongoing legal matters, he will not have any further comment.”

On Nov. 1, 2026, the same attorneys issued a lengthy Sunday statement that answered the accounts in detail and took aim at the police department for releasing them. Jacobs, the statement said, denied “all three accounts” of the alleged 2021–2022 incidents and “has a substantial body of tangible evidence to back up his assertions.” It called the released file “only phone interviews, taken years after the fact, with no additional investigation, save for an acknowledgement that Josh did nothing wrong,” and said he “was not given an opportunity to present evidence to Hobart-Lawrence in response to the uncorroborated report.” According to the statement, one of the three women made her claim to the NFL, which “reviewed it and decided no action was warranted” — evidence the lawyers say Jacobs has kept and that the police report “did not even present.” It further alleged that another claim against him came only after Jacobs called authorities to his Las Vegas home in 2021 over “misconduct” by the woman, that a police report written that day “effectively undermined her claims,” and that no authority took further action after she was removed from the home. Of the third account, the attorneys said the woman had reached out to Jacobs, visited his Las Vegas home overnight with another person present, and “left the following evening — on her own, in a car she ordered herself,” adding that the ride receipt in the released file “is consistent with Josh’s account of how the visit ended, not hers.” The statement closed: “The three accounts are old, are hearsay, and easily disproven, yet released to the media by police without any investigation to determine whether they were accurate or contradicted by evidence. Josh is answering them in detail because of the character assassination that is occurring, unfairly threatening his career.”

Jacobs addressed the released accounts himself for the first time on Nov. 4, 2026, after practice. “It really feels like an attack on me and who I am and my character,” he told reporters. “And at the end of the day, there’s a lot of stuff being said about me that’s completely false. Like, completely made up. And it’s like people just run with it. And I can’t change that.” He said all he can do is “try to be who I am and try not to let the negative moments change who I am,” explaining that he did not want to become “closed off” and “angry all the time because of what’s going on in my life,” and pointed back to his attorneys’ statement: “I’m going to lean on that.”

Public Reaction and Consequences

On August 30, 2026, the NFL placed Jacobs on the commissioner exempt list. While on the list, he is not allowed to practice or play for the Packers, though he continues to be paid. It remained unclear how long he would stay on the list, and the league could still issue a suspension under its personal conduct policy.

“Josh Jacobs has been placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, which is an administrative procedure used by the NFL while a matter is being reviewed. It is not a final determination,” Jacobs’ representation said in a statement at the time. “Josh respects the NFL process, the Packers, and his coaches and teammates. He looks forward to his return to the team and the NFL.”

After the pleas, Jacobs’ attorneys said in a statement: “With this agreement, Josh has accepted responsibility for his conduct and resolved this matter. Today’s resolution is set against a career long history of Josh’s community work while in the NFL, which has centered on the circumstances of his early life.”

Upon the removal announcement, his attorneys said Jacobs “has dedicated the last several months to bettering himself, and he accepts responsibility for his actions,” adding that he “is excited to get back to work and on the field with his teammates” and, citing the ongoing legal matters, would have no further comment.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur defended Jacobs at a Sept. 11 press conference: “I know the guy. And I know the character of the guy. I’ve said it many times. And unfortunately situations occur in life, and it’s just an unfortunate situation.” Asked why Jacobs remained on the roster after his admission, LaFleur responded, “Guys, I’m not going to get into any of this until the league completes their investigation.”

Jacobs made his first extensive public comments since the removal on Oct. 21, speaking to reporters inside Green Bay’s locker room. “Sometimes when you go through life, situations occur,” the 28-year-old running back said. “And a four-second, three-second decision can alter your life, honestly.” He echoed his courtroom statement that he was taking “full responsibility,” adding: “I’m still a human being, man. Still trying to learn. Still trying to grow from the whole process. Actually learned a lot throughout this process. Legally and just personally. But, yeah, man. Going forward just try to be better.”

LaFleur, addressing the situation for the second time in as many months, again went to bat for his back: “I do believe he is a good person. I’ve been around him quite a bit. I believe in second chances.”

Two days before the file’s release, Jacobs scored twice in a 27-19 Thursday-night win over the Panthers on Oct. 29 and celebrated a touchdown with his hands behind his back — a gesture many fans read as a reference to his arrest. He said the motion was a nod to the gospel song “Break Every Chain.” “The guys did it with me,” he said after the game. “I didn’t think it was going to be a thing that can be perceived a certain type of way. But it’s 2026, and it is what it is.”

Current Status

The NFL’s personal-conduct investigation remains open: the league is still investigating Jacobs over the incident that led to his May arrest and could hand out further discipline, according to the Associated Press, and the six games he missed on the exempt list would count toward any suspension the probe produces. On Oct. 31, 2026, the league said the newly reported accounts are now part of that review — “We will review these allegations as part of the investigation which has remained open,” the NFL said in a statement — while it remains unclear how the additional allegations will affect Jacobs’s standing in the league and with the Packers. Jacobs now answers the file with an outright denial of all three accounts — his attorneys’ Nov. 1 statement calls them “old,” “hearsay, and easily disproven,” says they were “released to the media by police without any investigation,” and notes one claim had already been reviewed by the NFL with no action taken. His criminal case is resolved — no-contest pleas on Sept. 10, 2026, a $1,000 fine plus costs on the battery count, and a suspended sentence on the property count — while his injunction seeking to block the release of evidence remains pending. Jacobs has played two games since his Oct. 19 return — the Week 7 loss at Detroit and the Week 8 win over Carolina — and the newly released police file now anchors the case’s public record around three additional women’s accounts, none of which has produced charges. Jacobs said on Nov. 4, 2026 that he is not expecting additional discipline: “With all the evidence that we have and that they have at this point … I’m not worried about feeling like I’m going to miss any more time than I already have.” The AP notes, however, that the league’s ongoing investigation still leaves open the possibility of further discipline, and the NFL has declined comment on his attorneys’ statement.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The exempt list placement sidelined one of the NFL’s most accomplished running backs through the first six weeks of the 2026 season, including the opener against the Vikings on Sept. 13, before the league cleared his return without issuing a suspension. Under the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the baseline minimum suspension for a domestic-abuse incident is six games — a threshold the games Jacobs has already missed would satisfy in full if the open investigation produces a ban.

The conviction also reframed the story around him: after five years with the Raiders, Jacobs had anchored the Packers’ backfield with 1,329 rushing yards in 2024 and 939 in 2025, and now carries court-record misdemeanor convictions alongside his playing future. The October release of the police file handed the league’s still-open probe a fuller record — three additional accusers’ accounts and the arrest footage — just as Jacobs plays out the season in the Packers’ backfield.

Sources

“NY Post: Josh Jacobs calls more allegations of abuse surfacing ‘an attack on me’” source
“AP (via FOX 56): Packers’ Jacobs isn’t worrying over whether additional allegations will lead to more punishment” source
“NY Post: Josh Jacobs’ attorneys slam police over release of new abuse allegations” source
“NY Post: NFL responds to more allegations emerging against Josh Jacobs” source
“ESPN: NFL to review additional allegations against Packers’ Jacobs” source
“NY Post: Multiple women accuse Josh Jacobs of abuse following May arrest” source
“NY Post: New video emerges from Josh Jacobs’ arrest as more allegations are revealed” source
“NBC 26: Multiple other women accused Jacobs of abuse, per newly-released records” source
“ESPN (Associated Press): Records show 3 other women accused Packers’ Josh Jacobs of abuse” source
“NY Post: Josh Jacobs addresses battery incident ahead of Packers return” source
“NY Post: Josh Jacobs getting removed from commissioner’s exempt list” source
“WFRV (Nexstar): Josh Jacobs taken off the NFL Commissioner’s Exempt List” source
“On3: NFL to remove Josh Jacobs from Commissioner Exempt list” source
“Yahoo Sports: Packers RB Josh Jacobs to be removed from NFL’s commissioner exempt list, will be eligible to play Week 7” source
“NY Post: Packers coach Matt LaFleur defends Josh Jacobs after battery conviction” source
“Yahoo Sports: NFL places Packers RB Josh Jacobs on commissioner exempt list after offseason domestic abuse arrest” source
“TotalProSports: Packers Bracing For Star RB Josh Jacobs To Be Suspended By NFL” source
“Wikipedia: Josh Jacobs” source