Packers RB Josh Jacobs Charged with Misdemeanor Battery and Criminal Damage

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  Rob DemovskyAug 27, 2026, 03:49 PM ET

  Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA.

Multiple Authors

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers running back Josh Jacobs was charged Thursday with misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property, according to Wisconsin court records.

The formal charges came more than three months after his arrest following an alleged domestic‑violence incident at his home near Green Bay.

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

According to the criminal complaint, Jacobs’ girlfriend said she saw him talking to other women on his phone, became upset, and threw the device. She told him he could search her phone and called for a car to take her to Chicago. When she attempted to retrieve her phone, Jacobs reportedly refused to return it, grabbed her arm, and a physical struggle ensued that lasted several minutes.

Later, while trying to leave the garage, Jacobs allegedly grabbed her, threw her to the ground, and she hit her head, sustaining an injury, the complaint alleges.

Police observed redness on her face and neck and felt a bump on the back of her head. She reported pain from the injuries. Jacobs also failed to return one of her phones and damaged another, the report states.

Surveillance footage from the garage’s camera system exists, though none was captured inside the residence.

A statement from Jacobs’ attorneys—David Z. Chesnoff, Richard A. Schonfeld, and Clarence F. Duchac III—said the district attorney reviewed the evidence and chose to file misdemeanor charges that do not include a domestic‑violence allegation. They added that the allegations would be addressed in court, not in the media, and that Mr. Jacobs respects the DA’s office and its process.

The NFL is conducting its own investigation and may suspend Jacobs; the league has not yet decided whether to act before the season begins or await the legal proceedings. “We have been closely monitoring all developments in the matter, which remains under review,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said Thursday.

The Packers acknowledged the charges and said they would cooperate with the NFL as the process unfolds. “We will continue to cooperate with the NFL as we work through the process. We will have no further comment at this time,” a team spokesperson said.

Jacobs is scheduled for an initial court appearance on Nov. 17.

Jacobs was initially arrested on May 26 after a May 23 incident at his home. He was booked by the Hobart‑Lawrence Police Department on charges including battery (domestic abuse), criminal damage to property, domestic abuse, disorderly conduct (domestic abuse, strangulation and suffocation), and intimidation of a victim. The strangulation and suffocation charge was a felony, while the other counts were misdemeanors. He spent a night in jail before being released the following day.

General manager Brian Gutekunst indicated the Packers might add an extra running back if Jacobs is likely to miss the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 13. Alongside Jacobs, the team already has MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks as backups, with Pierre Strong Jr. likely to fill a fourth spot. “We’ll deal with that if that transpires, but we could,” Gutekunst said Wednesday of potentially carrying an additional back. “You’re always usually going to keep three or four running backs, and I think we have enough to do that. But again, 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.”

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