Winning Isn’t Everything, Truth Is Only Thing for Packers And Josh Jacobs

GREEN BAY, Wis. – After spending the first six games of the NFL season on the exempt list following an altercation with a female for which he pleaded no contest, the spotlight is back on Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs for all the wrong reasons.

After starting and scoring two touchdowns against Carolina on Thursday, WGBA-TV Channel 26 in Green Bay received records from the Hobart/Lawrence Police Department on Friday following an open-records request. The records show that three additional women contacted the department to allege similar altercations with Jacobs from his time with the Raiders.

Jacobs’ legal team offered a strong rebuttal on Sunday.

From Jacobs’ legal team. pic.twitter.com/ASGAmTLIMX
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 1, 2026

It concluded with this final statement:

“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.”

There’s no reason to jump to conclusions and believe the women on face value about the alleged incidents from four or five years ago. That doesn’t mean they are lying – let’s make that abundantly clear – it’s just that in today’s world, really, nobody deserves the benefit of the doubt. Nobody – and that absolutely includes the player, the lawyer, the team and the league.

There’s no reason to believe Jacobs when he (through his lawyers) said that these old allegations are “hearsay” and he’s done nothing wrong.

There’s no reason to believe coach Matt LaFleur when he said, “I know the guy and I know the character of the guy. I’ve said that many times. And, unfortunately, situations occur in life and it’s just an unfortunate situation.”

There’s no reason to believe the team and the league hadn’t stumbled upon this information while doing their own investigations into the May incident. No reason to believe everyone isn’t just kicking the can down the road.

At the same time, contrary to what my colleague, Conor Orr, wrote for SI.com, this should not be about the Packers being “the adult in the room” and releasing Jacobs because the rest of the teams are “sacrificing (their) morals.”

The NFL is a bottom-line business. “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” is a saying that isn’t too far from reality. Jacobs gives the Packers their best chance of winning games, which is why they stood by him throughout the ordeal. They chose to believe the Memorial Day Weekend incident is a one-off, one horrendous moment for the former team captain.

“I think a lot of times you get in a situation where you might not make the right decision,” LaFleur said when Jacobs returned a couple weeks ago. “I think people learn from their mistakes, and I think he’s extremely remorseful and I do believe that he’s a good person. I’ve been around him quite a bit and I believe in second chances.”

If you’re looking for a hot take on the worthiness of that second chance, I’m sorry. Not today, because none of us know the facts.

We don’t know what happened in May, the incident for which Jacobs pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and damage to a property. There is a video, which both the Jacobs and victim have asked to be sealed for understandable reasons.

Speaking of the video, the NFL removed Jacobs from the exempt list after six games because, without getting to view it, its investigation was at a standstill. It couldn’t keep Jacobs sidelined forever, so it allowed Jacobs to play while saying the investigation was ongoing.

Remember, on the battery charge, the Brown County District Attorney’s Office – which has seen the video – handed down a $1,000 fine. That’s not even a slap on the wrist. That’s like putting your arm around your kid and telling him in a soothing voice, “Don’t do that again.”

Was the penalty so minor because what happened that night was so minor – relatively speaking, obviously – or did Jacobs and the victim agree to a payoff so Jacobs could avoid much harsher discipline legally and from the league?

We all have thoughts and opinions, along with stances on winning games vs. having the moral high ground, but we don’t know the facts behind any of the allegations made by this year’s victim or the other women. There are snippets from those incidents on the police reports and there are rebuttals by his lawyers but, ultimately, the only people who know are the women and Jacobs.

The NFL didn’t suspend Jacobs, so the Packers’ hands are tied a bit in terms of his contract, the collective bargaining agreement and the salary cap.

If the Packers trade for Jonathan Taylor, it means they are moving on from Josh Jacobs.

Here's the complexity:

Josh Jacobs was never suspended. As such he currently qualifies for 100% termination pay - Meaning if released and he doesn't sign with another team the Packers will…
— Ken - Packers Cap (@KenIngalls) November 1, 2026

At the end of the day, Jacobs pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor and not a felony. The old allegations that were made public last week could lead to a suspension, which would open the door for the Packers to release him due to conduct detrimental to the team, but, again, what is the truth? And is there any appetite for actually finding the truth?

Maybe, if the team deems Jacobs misled them about the May incident, but, again, that’s nothing more than speculation based on limited knowledge of what happened.

LaFleur will talk to reporters on Monday afternoon. He will be asked to answer questions that he shouldn’t have to answer. Jacobs’ place on the roster presumably was made by the organization – general manager Brian Gutekunst and team President and CEO Ed Policy. That they aren’t taking the lead on this is absurd. The team hasn’t even offered a wishy-washy statement in the wake of Friday’s news.

What we do know is Jacobs remains on the roster. That’s all we know. Everything else is opinion. It’s up to the NFL and the Packers to sort out the details honestly and to the best of their ability and do what’s right for the organization and the league. Winning isn’t everything. The truth is the only thing.

Whatever the decision, everyone better be damned sure it’s the right one.

Breaking news:

The Packers' run game isn't just terrible. It's historically terrible. And nothing has helped. ⬇️https://t.co/IaIJH9Yxrt
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 2, 2026

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