Packers running back Josh Jacobs
facing misdemeanor charges of battery, criminal damage to property
[August 28, 2026]
By STEVE MEGARGEE
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs is facing misdemeanor
charges of battery and criminal damage to property stemming from
what police described as a physical confrontation with his
girlfriend.
Jacobs was arrested May 26 after police were called to his home to
investigate a disturbance and was released from jail the next day.
The charges were announced Thursday by Brown County District
Attorney David Lasee.
“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,”
Lasee said in a statement. “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. 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.”
Jacobs’ lawyers — David Z. Chesnoff, Richard A. Schonfeld, and
Clarence F. Duchac III — issued a statement acknowledging the
charges, noting they “do not include domestic violence.”
“The allegations will be addressed in court, and not in the media,"
they said. "Mr. Jacobs respects the District Attorney’s office and
the process it followed.”
Jacobs was back on the field with the Packers for organized team
activities less than a week after the arrest and has been with the
team for training camp, though he’s been limited by a groin injury.
Jacobs was initially arrested on five criminal charges, including a
felony count of strangulation and suffocation as well as battery,
criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct and intimidation of
a victim. The only charges filed Thursday involved the misdemeanor
counts of battery and disorderly conduct.
Incident started with dispute regarding phone
According to the criminal complaint, the Hobart-Lawrence Police
Department responded to a report of a disturbance involving a man
and a woman on the morning of May 23. Police said Jacobs’ girlfriend
told them she had a lump on her head as a result of Jacobs’ actions.
Police said the woman said she had been looking through Jacobs’
phone and saw he was talking to other women, and that she threw the
phone in anger without breaking it.
She told police that Jacobs had her phone and she told him he could
look through it.
Police said the woman indicated she tried to retrieve her phone from
Jacobs, but he didn’t return it and instead grabbed her arm and
began a struggle that lasted several minutes.
Police said the two of them then left in separate vehicles, with the
woman following Jacobs to try to get her phone back.
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They eventually returned to the home, and the woman
said she was going to call police to get her phone back. Police said
Jacobs called the woman a derogatory name and said he would “do
something to her” as she grabbed a second phone from a duffle bag
According to police, the woman was trying to exit a
garage door to get outside when Jacobs grabbed her and threw her to
the ground, causing her to hit her head. Police said Jacobs also
took the phone from her while she was on the ground.
Police said they noticed redness on her face and neck and could feel
a bump on the back of her head. According to police, the woman said
Jacobs hadn’t returned her primary phone, and that her second phone
was damaged as a result of the incident.
According to the criminal complaint, surveillance footage from the
camera system in the garage corroborated the woman’s statement.
The maximum possible sentence for each of the two charges filed
against Jacobs includes nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine.
The NFL said it is monitoring the case. The Packers said they were
aware of the charges and would continue to cooperate with the NFL.
Loss of Jacobs would challenge Packers
Jacobs rushed for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. That
followed a 2024 season in which Jacobs ran for 1,329 yards and 15
touchdowns while earning his third Pro Bowl selection.
The 28-year-old has rushed for 7,803 yards and 74 touchdowns in his
seven-year career, which included five seasons with the Raiders. He
earned All-Pro honors and had an NFL-leading 1,653 yards rushing
with Las Vegas in 2022.
Running back is a position in which the Packers don't have much
depth.
Injuries have caused 2024 third-round draft pick MarShawn Lloyd to
play just one game over the past two seasons, though he has been
healthy throughout training camp. Pierre Strong Jr. spent last
season on Green Bay's practice squad but has 499 career yards
rushing with the New England Patriots (2022) and Cleveland Browns
(2023-2024). Chris Brooks ran for 106 yards on 27 carries last
season while contributing primarily on special teams.
During a news conference Wednesday, Green Bay general manager Brian
Gutekunst was asked if the Packers would need to add another running
back in the event Jacobs faced charges and got suspended.
“Yeah, I’m pretty confident we can sustain it, but it doesn’t mean
we wouldn’t do that,” Gutekunst said about adding a player. “We’ll
deal with that when that comes, but we’ve obviously prepared for
that in case that happens. But at the same time, I feel really good
about the guys we’ve got in that room and I think we can survive
that.”
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