Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said the team will wait for the legal process to conclude before making any decisions about running back Josh Jacobs' future with the team, expressing hope that he will play this season.
"I'm certainly hopeful that he will and certainly would expect that," Gutekunst said Tuesday, according to The Athletic's Matt Schneidman. "But we're going to let this process play out, and we'll be prepared either way."
Jacobs was placed on the NFL's commissioner's exempt list Sunday, two days after the Brown County District Attorney's office levied two misdemeanor charges resulting from a late May arrest. The charges include one count of battery and another of criminal damage to property, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
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 woman's head, and stated that Jacobs destroyed the woman's phone, the Press-Gazette reported. The report also said Jacobs was arrested May 26 after an alleged domestic incident at his home, according to theScore.
Gutekunst said he has not seen the video evidence.
"Those are legal things going on right now," Gutekunst said, according to ESPN's Rob Demovsky. "So we'll let those play out. That's really not for us, but in the appropriate times, if those things become available, we'll figure that stuff out when that time comes."
While on the commissioner's exempt list, Jacobs cannot practice or play, and the NFL has yet to announce whether it will punish him further. The exempt list allows for players to be in team facilities for meetings, and head coach Matt LaFleur said Jacobs will still be at the team facility.
"There have been many conversations — certainly don't know all the details," LaFleur said. "But what he tells me, I believe in him and I trust him and will do so until I'm proven otherwise."
Gutekunst was asked whether the team might release Jacobs, but he said, "I think we'll let the process play out before we make any kind of those decisions, but we'll see." He also noted that the timeline for Jacobs' status is ultimately up to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who has sole authority in determining the duration of a stint on the exempt list.
Jacobs is under contract with the Packers through the 2027 season after signing a four-year, $48-million deal in 2024. He has rushed for 2,258 yards and 28 touchdowns since joining Green Bay, according to theScore.
In the meantime, Gutekunst traded for Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson. Johnson, a third-round draft pick in 2025, rushed for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns as a college junior at Iowa, according to the Press-Gazette. The team also has MarShawn Lloyd, a 2024 third-round pick who has played only 10 snaps in his first two NFL seasons because of injuries, the Press-Gazette reported.