RapSheet: Jacobs could miss 2-3 weeks

With Josh Jacobs out with a broken finger, Johnson led the Packers with 14 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown in the team’s Week 9 drubbing of the Patriots. Forty-four of those yards came on explosive rushes. Pierre Strong, meanwhile had eight carries on the day. MarShawn Lloyd was sidelined with a knee issue but could be back in the Green Bay lineup soon. Lloyd’s shocking lack of production this season could, according to Schneidman, give Johnson a real chance to seize lead back duties. Head coach Matt LaFleur after the team’s Week 9 win seemed to imply there are some pass protection concerns for Johnson. That would probably mean Chris Brooks, who’s expected to return from an ankle injury in Week 10, gets the third-down role while Jacobs is sidelined. The Packers this week take on an elite Minnesota offense that teams have run on in recent weeks.

LaFleur confirmed previous reports that Jacobs will undergo surgery, but it sounds like he could be at risk of missing more than the three-week “maximum” that was reported. LaFleur not only said a stint on injured reserve was possible, but also noted that Jacobs playing through the injury was never an option, saying he “had no grip strength.” We don’t yet know when Jacobs will undergo his surgery, but LaFleur did confirm that it will be some time this week. With Jacobs now sidelined for the foreseeable future, Green Bay will look to MarShawn Lloyd, Pierre Strong, and Kaleb Johnson to lead the backfield heading into Week 10 against the Vikings.

Less than 24 hours after it was reported that the team would see if Jacobs could play through his fractured finger, they have now opted for surgery. The decision to say Jacobs could be out “a maximum of three weeks” suggests he will avoid the injured reserve and that this will be more of a week-to-week thing, and that he could return before the end of the month. Jacobs has totaled 148 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns on 47 touches since returning from the Commissioner’s Exempt list. Now, the Packers will likely take a bit of a committee approach in the weeks ahead and could lean more on Kaleb Johnson, who was solid against the Patriots (14-68-1), with Jacobs and MarShawn Lloyd (knee) both sidelined. That said, all Packers running backs will be hard to trust as anything more than desperation dart throws in Week 10 when they take on a stout Vikings defense.

An early injury to Josh Jacobs (finger) opened the door for Johnson to have a career day. The former third-round pick rushed for a career-high 68 yards in this one while leading the Packers in carries and managed to find the end zone on a two-yard touchdown in the second quarter. In addition to Jacobs leaving the game early, Johnson also benefited from MarShawn Lloyd (knee) being inactive. Half of his rushing production came on a 34-yard run, and fantasy managers should exercise caution before adding him off of waivers this week. The Packers have already said that they are going to see if Jacobs can play through his fractured finger, and it’s possible Lloyd will be active next week after entering this weekend carrying a questionable tag. If both Jacobs and Lloyd are sidelined, Johnson could be worth a dart throw in deeper leagues as a boom-or-bust RB3 against the Vikings.

Jacobs exited early in the first quarter after his finger got caught in a defender’s facemask while he attempted a stiff arm. While he was never officially ruled out, Jacobs never returned to the field and was instead on the sideline in full uniform. According to Schneidman, the Packers plan to find a way for Jacobs to play through the injury, but he was unable to return in this one. Although, to be fair, he also wasn’t needed, as the Packers’ offense was in control throughout the evening. We assume Jacobs would see close to a normal workload if he is active for Week 10 against the Vikings, meaning fantasy manager can treat him as a strong RB2.

This news comes from the official team account. It was hard to tell when Jacobs suffered the injury, but star running back could be seen jogging to the locker room with trainers late in the first quarter. Jacobs leaves the game with five rushing yards on four carries and will be replaced by Pierre Strong with MarShawn Lloyd (knee) being inactive.

Jacobs is facing additional allegations of verbal and physical abuse that could jeopardize his playing status moving forward. He told Demovsky that he is “operating under the assumption that he won’t have to sit out any more games than the six he already missed while on the NFL commissioner exempt list.” Jacobs has defended himself against the allegations after his attorneys also dismissed the claims. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said earlier this week he expects Jacobs to remain on the roster as the league reviews this round of allegations. Jacobs has missed six games on the Commissioner’s Exempt List and will continue to play while the NFL looks into the new claims.

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, given that NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday that Jacobs is “going to continue to play” while the league reviews this latest round of allegations. The league is not only reviewing these latest allegations, but is also looking into whether or not Jacobs was “upfront” with them about the initial allegations that led to him being placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt list. Barring an unexpected development this week, we would expect Jacobs to be on the field against the Patriots this week.

A public records request revealed three additional accusations of domestic violence against Jacobs over the weekend. That is on top of the initial incident in which Jacobs ultimately pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property. The NFL put out a statement saying they will continue to look into Jacobs’ situation. Even though Jacobs was removed from the Commissioner’s Exempt List two weeks ago, the league’s investigation was still ongoing. Rapoport notes that the league is also looking into whether Jacobs was “upfront” with them about his disturbing legal situation. Of note, Jacobs’ team pushed to have video of the most recent incident sealed from public access while the league actively sought to have it released. Rapoport makes it sound like it may take some time for a suspension to be announced, but it’s more likely than not that Jacobs is suspended because of the most recent revelations.

The Wisconsin television station received “heavily redacted” police reports on Friday evening, though they included allegations from three other women. There are multiple extremely disturbing allegations of physical violence. One alleged incident took place in January 2022. The accuser “contacted investigators in June after learning about the May investigation, telling police the allegations sounded similar to her prior experience with Jacobs.” She also said the incident had “never been reported to law enforcement, (and that she) contacted police when she believed her alleged experience with Jacobs could be relevant to the case.” The allegations highlight the folly of the NFL’s apparent wish that the situation would just go away. It has not, and now it is quite possible, if not likely, that Jacobs ends up suspended for the remainder of the 2026 season. Stay tuned.