After a lengthy legal process and an extended stay on the NFL Commissioner Exempt List, running back Josh Jacobs is back at practice for the Green Bay Packers this week. The 28-year-old former All-Pro is expected to play in Green Bay's Week 7 division matchup against Detroit after pleading no contest to two misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property in Brown County Court this September.
An emotional Jacobs spoke to the media for the first time since rejoining the team on Wednesday, opening with remarks about his remorse:
"Sometimes, when you go through life, situations occur and a four-second, three-second decision can alter your life, honestly. But with that being said, man, [I'm] still a human being, man. Still trying to learn. Still trying to grow through the whole process."
Jacobs was accused of throwing his girlfriend to the ground in a domestic dispute at his Green Bay area home in May. Other charges of strangulation/suffocation and intimidation of a victim were dropped during the process, and the surveillance footage of the incident, while not publicly released, was not sealed despite a request by the alleged victim's attorneys.
At least for now, the situation appears to be in the rearview mirror for Jacobs and the Packers, who hope that they can now turn their focus back to producing a winning product on the football field. But for some fans, it'll be hard to undo the damage that's already been done.
The Green Bay Packers and Josh Jacobs may have done legitimate damage in this saga.
For an organization that prides itself on being community-based and following a strong ethical code, it sure did sweep this situation under the rug — even knowing there is video evidence floating around. Although he did not fully admit his guilt, a no-contest plea is as close as you can get to admitting wrongdoing without outright saying it. If he didn't do anything wrong, why would he express his remorse?
I'm not the morality police, and neither are you. Everyone can make their own judgment about the situation and how it was handled. With that said, the way this has been handled is far from ideal. Head coach Matt LaFleur has largely come out in support of Jacobs, speaking to his character and how this was just a mistake, without making a sincere acknowledgment of the accusations' intensity.
Instead, it's business as usual for the Packers, who welcome Jacobs back with open arms, only because he's great at carrying the football. It begs the question — what else are the Packers okay with sweeping under the rug for the sake of winning football games?
This is a historic franchise with a storied tradition that does a ton for its community. With that said, it's safe to say they dropped the ball with this one, both in how they handled it from a football perspective and from a real-world perspective. Yet, if they go on to win the Super Bowl, it'll be but a footnote in the Packers' history books, or one they fail to acknowledge at all.
But can we really blame the Packers alone for that? This is not an uncommon occurrence in the NFL, where players find themselves in trouble for things they do off the field all the time. So maybe it's more of a systemic issue with the league itself, which placed Jacobs on what was effectively paid leave for the first six weeks of the season. Maybe the NFL's leadership group needs to take a long look in the mirror and reevaluate how it handles these situations, or why they're so common in the NFL versus other leagues.
Ultimately, the responsibility falls back on Jacobs, who seems to be accepting the reality that he really messed up, and it's up to him to earn back the respect from those he lost. The first step was to take accountability, but after that, all he can do is play hard for the team that supported him through this journey and make the most of his second chance. Because not everyone gets the opportunity he has, and it's up to Jacobs to prove that he deserves it.
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