The NFL will remove Josh Jacobs from the commissioner exempt list on Monday, according to reports from Tom Pelissero and Adam Schefter. ESPN said the league announced the move, which makes the Packers running back eligible to practice and play next week. Schefter and Yahoo Sports put his return at Week 7.
The move is not a clearance. Schefter noted that the investigation into Jacobs for domestic violence will stay open, which preserves the league's right to discipline him later. Pro Football Talk, in a headline repeated by Yahoo Sports, said the NFL "leaves door open for further discipline." The summaries we have do not say what discipline could follow or when the league expects to finish its review.
Only Yahoo's Kari Anderson supplies the background. She wrote that Jacobs was arrested for domestic abuse last May and was placed on the list before the season. None of the other summaries mention the arrest or when he was placed on the list, and we have not seen the underlying details. The NFL Trade Rumors item also points to reporting from USA Today's Danielle Lerner, but the summary cuts off before it says what she reported.
The timing matters for Green Bay. Monday is the day after the Packers host Dallas on Sunday, Oct. 18, so Jacobs will not be eligible for that game. Our archive has no 2026 game data for him, which is consistent with his absence. His most recent games are from last season. In 2025 he played 15 games and ran 234 times for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns, with 36 catches for 282 yards. His last appearance was the Jan. 10 game at Chicago, where he had 19 carries for 55 yards.
The Packers have gotten by without him. They are 3-2 and fourth in the NFC North, riding a two-game winning streak. They beat Tampa Bay 17-14 on the road on Oct. 4 and then Chicago 31-7 on Oct. 11, after a 35-14 home loss to Atlanta on Sept. 24.
Sun, Oct 18, 8:20 PM ET
Dallas comes first, and Jacobs will not play in it. After that, the open question is whether his return holds. He becomes eligible next week, but the league's investigation remains open and no outlet has given a timeline for it to conclude.
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