Despite his elite talent and vital role for the Green Bay Packers, looming legal turmoil leaves Josh Jacobs' future on the field uncertain.
We're officially 10 days from the start of the 2026 NFL season for the Green Bay Packers. Whether you're ready or not, football season is here.
The Packers kick off their 2026 season against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Sept. 13, from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Talk about pressure. The Vikings are certainly in a transitional place as a franchise, but getting going against an NFC North foe ratchets up the intensity of this season from the get-go.
It's a big season for the Packers. There's a belief that they're in a Super Bowl window right now, which means every single game is important. That means the intensity will be there in Week 2 at MetLife Stadium against the New York Jets and it will certainly be there in Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons, when the Packers will play at Lambeau Field for the first time in 2026.
There's going to be a lot of proverbial ink spilled on this 2026 season and we here at PackersRoundtable hope that you spend as much time as possible with us talking about the ins and outs and ups and downs of the Packers.
As we prepare for the 2026 season, though, we're going to kick things off with a rankings series looking at the Top 50 Packers heading into the 2025 season.
At No. 10, we have offensive running back Josh Jacobs
Ranking the Top 50 Packers Heading Into 2026: No. 10, Josh Jacobs
Nov 2, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) during the game against the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images.These rankings have been made with a simple formula. Importance to the team + talent level = ranking.
With that in mind, there's no way Josh Jacobs could be outside of the Top 10. He's an extremely important piece of this offense and though he has slowed down a bit since his first-team All-Pro season in 2022 with the Las Vegas Raiders, he's still one of the better running backs in the NFL.
The problem for the Packers is that they can't play him. On the day of roster cutdowns, Jacobs was placed on the commissioner's exception list after being formally charged with two misdemeanors. He was arrested in the spring because of an alleged domestic violence incident.
What that means is that Jacobs can't play or practice, though he can still be at the team facility, attend meetings and get medical treatments.
That's no help to the Packers in the actual games, though, and it's worth noting that Jacobs could still be suspended by the NFL. Heck, the Packers could even decide to cut him. The criminal complaint against him states that there is video footage of the alleged incident.
The Packers say they haven't seen that, but if that gets out and it's bad, they just may cut ties with the 28-year-old running back.
Talent + importance keeps Jacobs on this list, and there's a case to be made that he's a Top 5 important player on this team. He's put himself and this team in a bad situation, though.
2025 Synopsis:
In 15 games with a few missed due to injury, Jacobs rushed for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns last season for the Packers. He also caught 36 passes for 282 yards.
Notable Quotables:
“There were many conversations obviously and certainly don’t know all the details, but what he tells me, I believe him and I trust him. “I’m going to do that until proven otherwise.” - Matt LaFleur
Projected Role in 2026:
If he's able to play, Jacobs is this team's starting running back. He may not even be on the team at the end of this season, though, so it's hard to project beyond the present.
Previous Rankings:
