The Green Bay Packers will have a path to getting their top back on the field in Week 7. The NFL announced Friday that Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs will be removed from the commissioner’s exempt list on Oct. 19 and will be eligible to play against the Detroit Lions.
Jacobs has missed the Packers’ first five games while on the list, a stretch in which Green Bay has gone 3-2 and entered Week 6 with the NFL’s 32nd-ranked rushing offense. His availability for the Lions game would give the Packers another week to prepare him after Sunday’s home matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.
Jacobs went on the exempt list Aug. 30 as the NFL gathered information about an incident with a woman at his home near Green Bay on May 23.
Jacobs pleaded no contest Sept. 10 to charges of battery and criminal destruction of property. He was convicted on the first charge and fined $1,000.
Locked On Packers host Peter Bukowski said the immediate football benefit is clear, even if Jacobs does not return to a full workload right away. Bukowski argued that Jacobs can create more from ordinary rushing looks than the backs Green Bay has used during his absence and can help put the offense in more manageable down-and-distance situations.
Bukowski also cautioned against allowing Jacobs’ return to pull Green Bay away from a pass-heavy approach. He said the Packers should keep leaning on their receiving corps while using Jacobs to make the ground game more efficient and to create favorable situations for MarShawn Lloyd, the Packers’ running back who has handled a larger role during Jacobs’ absence.
The NFL said its review of Jacobs’ legal case is ongoing. Bukowski noted that the league could still impose discipline later, but Jacobs’ pending removal from the list means the Packers can begin planning for his return.
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