Jacobs to return to Packers practice Wednesday, might play Sunday

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  Rob DemovskyOct 19, 2026, 05:38 PM ET

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  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.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs will return to practice Wednesday and has a chance to play Sunday against the Detroit Lions after missing the first six games of the season while on the NFL's commissioner exempt list.

However, the return of pass rusher Micah Parsons will have to wait. Coach Matt LaFleur said Parsons will not return to practice this week, and with a Thursday game the following week, it might be a couple more weeks before he hits the field for the first time since last year's ACL surgery.

Jacobs has been able to do just about everything except practice or play in games while on the exempt list.

"We feel like he's in a pretty good spot," LaFleur said Monday. "He's been training, but he's missed the exposure to football."

"He could go to meetings, he could lift with our strength coaches and condition with them," LaFleur added. "He couldn't go to any of the team activities -- the practices and whatnot. He's been engaged and he's been working out."

Without Jacobs, who is still being investigated by the NFL for personal conduct policy violations stemming from his misdemeanor battery charge earlier this year, the Packers have by far the worst rushing offense in the NFL through six games. Their 59.8 yards rushing per game is last in the NFL by more than 16 yards, and that average is the third lowest by any team through six games in the past 20 years. The Packers have failed to reach 100 yards rushing as a team in any game this season but have still managed to win four of six games.

"Well, I think he's an elite-level back," LaFleur said. "He's certainly not going to hurt it. I think he can provide a spark."

LaFleur said that the team will determine Jacobs' status for Sunday against the Lions later in the week but that if all goes well during practice, he thinks Jacobs will make an immediate impact.

"That's going to be determined throughout the course of the week, see where he's at, see how he's feeling, and then we'll make a decision," LaFleur said.

Jacobs still could miss additional games pending the outcome of the NFL's investigation, which is ongoing. If he is suspended for only six games, then the time on the commissioner exempt list would cover the suspension. If he's suspended for any more than six games, then he would miss additional games. It's possible he could return to play but have to miss games at a later date.

Jacobs was placed on the commissioner exempt list Aug. 30 while the NFL continued to gather information about the May 23 incident with a woman at his home near Green Bay.

Jacobs pleaded no contest Sept. 10 to charges of battery and criminal destruction of property. He was convicted of battery and fined $1,000 and agreed to a deferred judgment agreement on a charge of damage to property. The original criminal complaint said there is surveillance video that shows at least part of the incident, and the NFL is hoping to view that video before it makes a ruling on any possible suspension. Jacobs and the victim in the case last week filed suit to have the evidence permanently sealed.

The Packers have stood by Jacobs since his arrest and the subsequent legal developments and have no plans to release him at this point.