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Josh Jacobs’ Attorneys Respond to Charges Against Packers Star

With the start of the NFL regular season a little more than two weeks away, Packers running back Josh Jacobs faces two misdemeanor charges. Now what?
Bill Huber|
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) is shown before a practice at training camp.
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) is shown before a practice at training camp. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs has been charged with battery and criminal damage to property, a pair of misdemeanors, according to court records first reported by Tom Pelissero.

Jacobs was originally booked in May on five charges, including felony strangulation. These are reduced charges, as quickly noted by Jacobs’ legal team.

In a statement provided to Packers On SI, attorneys David Z. Chesnoff, Richard A. Schonfeld and Clarence F. Duchac III, stated:

“The Brown County District Attorney has reviewed evidence and elected to file misdemeanor charges against Josh that do not include domestic violence. The allegations will be addressed in court, and not in the media. Mr. Jacobs respects the District Attorney's office and the process it followed.”

The Packers, predictably, had little to say. In a statement from a team spokesman, “We are aware of the charges brought against Josh Jacobs. We will continue to cooperate with the NFL as we work through the process. We will have no further comment at this time.”

Jacobs was booked on Tuesday, May 26, due to an incident that occurred on Saturday, March 23.

About three months later, charges have been filed based on this report, which states there is video to support the victim's story.

“Our office sought to ensure a fair and complete review of available evidence, some of which only recently became available to our office due to significant, ongoing forensic efforts by law enforcement,” Brown County District Attorney David L. Lasee said in a statement.

As noted by Lasee, being charged is not the same as being found guilty.

“A criminal complaint is nothing more than a written, formal accusation against a defendant alleging the commission of criminal offenses and does not raise any inference of guilt,” Lasee continued. “Mr. Jacobs is presumed innocent of these charges. As this is an ongoing criminal case, and out of respect for the rights of all parties, our office will not have further comment on the matter at this time.”

What’s Next?

Jacobs’ initial court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Brown County has been investigating the incident for three months, and the league and the Packers have been investigating, as well.

Now, from an on-the-field perspective, the Packers will wait to see what the NFL decides. The league didn’t have to wait for charges to be filed to hand out a potential suspension and it doesn’t have to wait for the case to be wrapped up.

“We have been closely monitoring all developments in the matter which remains under review,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told ESPN.com on Thursday.

The Packers are scheduled to head into the regular season with Josh Jacobs, MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks atop their running back depth chart.

Now what?

What It Means for Packers

That possibility has been on general manager Brian Gutekunst’s radar throughout the legal process.

“I think we’ll deal with that if that transpires but we could … you’re always usually going to keep three or four running backs, and I think we have enough to do that,” Gutekunst said on Wednesday. “But it comes down to choices and trying to figure that out. The one thing, particularly at that position, is elevating a guy from the practice squad – I don’t want to say it’s easy to do but it’s something we’ve done in the past and not something we’d shy away from.”

Jacobs returned from injury recently and was a full participant at practice this week, including Wednesday’s joint practice against the Cardinals.

The fourth running back – whether that’s on the 53-man roster or on the practice squad – would be Pierre Strong.

A fourth-round pick in 2022, he spent last season on Green Bay’s practice squad. In three seasons with the Patriots and Browns, he averaged 5.0 yards per carry. He almost had a kickoff-return touchdown against Denver last week.

“Obviously, he made some big plays not only in the kicking game but did a nice job running the ball,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said this week. “We’ve got to get him going a little bit more in protections on third down, things like that, get him the ball in his hands in the passing game just to see how he does there, but he’s done a nice job so I’ve very encouraged by what I’ve seen from him so far.”

If Jacobs is out, it could be an enormous blow to the offense. Lloyd has been healthy throughout training camp but missed 33 of a possible 34 games in his first two seasons due to a long list of injuries. Brooks has been more of a pass-protector and special-teams performer in his career.

The Packers will wrap up the preseason on Friday night against the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals had a glut of running backs but waived/injured Trey Benson this week. The former third-round pick was not claimed and reverted to Arizona’s injured reserve. He has been slowed by a knee injury that limited him to only four games last season.

Roster cuts are due at 5 p.m. Sunday. Along with Strong, Damien Martinez, a seventh-round pick by Seattle last year, and Jaden Nixon, an undrafted rookie, are on Green Bay’s running back depth chart.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.