Packers running back Josh Jacobs practiced Wednesday and has a chance to play Sunday.
Jacobs missed the first six games on the Commissioner Exempt List.
He opened his first media session since his May 26 arrest with a statement.
“First, I’m excited to be back with the team, with the guys,” Jacobs said, via video from Ryan Wood of USA Today. “I want to say thank you to the organization, really for supporting me throughout this whole process and how everything played out. With that being said, I can’t get into things, like specifics of things, but obviously, man, I’m remorseful and sorry for putting this team in this situation. Sometimes when you go through life, situations occur, and four-second, three-second decisions can alter your life honestly. With that being said, man, still a human being, man. Still trying to learn. Still trying to grow from the whole process. Actually learned a lot throughout this process, legally and just personally. Yeah, man, going forward, man, just trying to get better.”
Jacobs remains under investigation by the NFL for Personal Conduct Policy violations stemming from his misdemeanor battery charge. On Sept. 10, he pleaded no contest to charges of battery and criminal destruction of property.
He was convicted of battery and fined $1,000 and agreed to a deferred judgment agreement on a charge of damage to property.
The original criminal complaint said surveillance video of the altercation shows at least part of the incident, but Jacobs and the victim filed suit to have the evidence permanently sealed. The NFL has left open the possibility of further punishment based on not being privy to exactly what’s on the video.
Jacobs, though, was happy to be back with his teammates this week.
“I’m not trying to win nobody back, and that’s just me being all the way honest because at the end of the day, like I said, I know what happened,” Jacobs said. “And if you feel some type of way, obviously I feel bad because it’s still a situation that occurred, and it should’ve never even happened. So that’s something that I still will understand if people feel some type of way about it, but like I said, all I can do is keep showing up and being who I am, being a leader for this team, being a leader in this community and that’s really all I can control.”
The NFL placed Jacobs on paid leave Aug. 30, but he said he never doubted he would play again.
“I wasn’t overly concerned about that, because in my heart I know what happened and what didn’t happen, and I just trusted the legal process,” Jacobs said. “For me, I was never overly concerned of not playing again. It was just a matter of time of when.”
He also intimated that he disagrees with the league’s decision to sit him for six games, which is the baseline punishment for domestic battery.
“I think six games was a lot, honestly, but that’s not really up to me to decide,” Jacobs said. “I’m grateful to be playing, so that’s not even something I’m like arguing or petitioning with. I’m just happy to be back on the team.” Jacobs said he isn’t concerned about how anyone outside the locker room feels about him after the May 23 incident with a woman at his home.
“I know for some people, this might be a stain on me and my character. I feel like I don’t have to really speak on my character. A lot of people that know me in this locker room or that have been around me, I’ll let them do that. But for me, man, I’m just trying to come back in here and play ball, learn from this mistake and move forward.”
But he also said the time away from the game gave him an opportunity to reevaluate his life.
“Obviously you never want to be in this situation,” Jacobs said. “But just me being honest, it was probably one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. It gave me a chance to sit down and reevaluate what’s important and what I want my life to look like and what do I want people want to know me for. When they think of me, what [are] they going to say?”