Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur just dropped a bombshell, telling reporters he anticipates Josh Jacobs remaining on the roster. This is after new police records surfaced detailing allegations against the running back, adding to the already messy situation surrounding his May altercation with his then-girlfriend. You gotta wonder how this plays out for everyone involved.
The Charges, The Stance, and The Return
Jacobs’ troubles kicked off with an arrest back on May 26. Police reported that his then-girlfriend stated he grabbed her and threw her to the ground three days prior as she was trying to leave his Wisconsin home, causing her to hit. He eventually pleaded no contest on September 10 to two misdemeanor charges: battery and criminal damage to property. It’s a serious charge, and a plea of no contest isn’t exactly a clean slate.
Even with that hanging over his head, LaFleur initially stood by Jacobs. Back on September 1, the coach said, “I believe him and I trust him,” adding, “I’m going to do that until proven otherwise.” Jacobs spent the first six games of the season on the commissioner’s exempt list, meaning no playing, no practicing. But he returned for the Packers’ last two games. When he came off that list and started practicing again a couple of weeks ago, LaFleur kept the support coming, saying, “I think people learn from their mistakes and I think he’s extremely remorseful and I do believe that he’s a good person.” You hear a coach say that, and it tells you everything about where their head is at.
New Allegations, Ongoing Investigations
Then Friday night, the Hobart-Lawrence (Wisconsin) Police Department released investigation records, and these new details are rough. The records included accounts from *three other women* who reported similar incidents involving Jacobs from years before. Now, Jacobs is flat out denying these previous allegations. His lawyers, David Z. Chesnoff, Richard A. Schonfeld, and Clarence F. Duchac III, put out a statement Sunday. They claim Jacobs “took responsibility for what happened in May” and is meeting the court’s requirements for those two misdemeanors. But on the new allegations, his lawyers fired back, calling the three accounts “old, are hearsay, and easily disproven,” and accusing police of releasing them “without any investigation to determine whether they were accurate or contradicted by evidence.” They say Josh is answering them because of “character assassination” that’s “unfairly threatening his career.” They even mentioned that one of those three women made a claim to the NFL, which reviewed it and decided no action was warranted, and Jacobs “has kept evidence that supports his accounts and the NFL’s decision.”
The NFL isn’t saying much. They declined comment Sunday on the lawyers’ statement. However, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy did confirm on Saturday that the league will be reviewing these *new* allegations as part of its ongoing investigation. And that’s the key: the NFL’s investigation is *still ongoing*, which means Jacobs could be subject to even more discipline from the league.
When LaFleur was asked on Monday why they aren’t cutting ties with Jacobs, he basically punted, saying, “Because we’re just going to let everything kind of play out and obviously go from there.” And about whether anything had changed in his support for Jacobs after the new records? LaFleur said, “I’m not going to get into that up here right now. We’ll just let the process play out.” That’s a different tune than “I believe him and I trust him,” isn’t it?
The NFL says its investigation is still on, and that means Jacobs could face even more discipline. With those fresh allegations out there and the league looking into it, everyone is holding their breath. What LaFleur’s “process” actually looks like, and what the NFL decides, is going to be the next chapter here.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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