Josh Jacobs is set to step right back into the starting role for the Green Bay Packers when he becomes eligible next week.
NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported Saturday that Jacobs “will immediately return as the Packers’ starting running back” for the Week 7 game at the Detroit Lions.
The NFL said Friday that Jacobs will come off the commissioner’s exempt list Monday, which clears him to practice and play beginning with that Oct. 25 contest.
Jacobs has not been allowed to practice or attend games while on the list, which opened the door for questions about whether the Packers might ease him back into the offense after missing the first six games.
Those questions appear settled. Pelissero’s report indicates there will be no extended ramp-up period and no temporary move to a reduced role once Jacobs is cleared.
The three-time Pro Bowl running back was placed on the exempt list Aug. 30 after pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property stemming from a May arrest involving an altercation with his then-girlfriend.
The league’s investigation under its personal conduct policy remains open. Reuters reported that further discipline is still possible even after Jacobs returns to the field.
Green Bay’s run game has struggled badly in his absence. The Packers entered Week 6 averaging an NFL-worst 60.4 rushing yards per game and ranking next-to-last at 3.1 yards per carry through five games.
MarShawn Lloyd has led the group with 112 yards on 40 carries and two touchdowns. Kaleb Johnson has added 106 yards on 27 attempts.
Head coach Matt LaFleur said Friday that the running backs have shown improvement lately by doing a better job “pressing and cutting” and playing with better pad level. Still, the team’s overall production remains among the league’s poorest.
Jacobs posted 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns in his first season with the Packers in 2024. He followed that with 929 yards and 13 scores in 15 games last year, giving him 28 rushing touchdowns over those two seasons.
Those numbers help explain why Green Bay appears ready to hand him the bulk of the early-down and short-yardage work right away rather than force him to earn the job in a committee.
The Packers (3-2) host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night before traveling to Detroit the following week for an NFC North matchup.
Jacobs’ return will come against a division rival, giving the offense an immediate test of whether the workhorse back can lift a ground attack that has been one of the league’s weakest.
Meanwhile, star edge rusher Micah Parsons still is not ready to practice. Pelissero reported that makes it unlikely he plays before the Nov. 8 game at the New England Patriots at the soonest.
Parsons is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last December and remains on the physically unable to perform list as the Packers take a cautious approach with his return.
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