Green Bay, Wisconsin — Jacobs Returns to Packers After Battery Case

Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. — Josh Jacobs returned to the Green Bay Packers' locker room on Wednesday and apologized to the team, two months after he was charged over a May altercation with his girlfriend at his Wisconsin home, according to the New York Post.

The 28-year-old running back has been cleared to rejoin the club after being removed from the National Football League's commissioner's exempt list, the outlet reported. The designation had barred him from practicing or playing for the Packers' first six games of the season.

What led to the charges against Jacobs?

Authorities alleged that Jacobs grabbed the woman in his garage and threw her to the ground, causing injury, and that he broke her phone during the dispute, the Post reported. On Sept. 10, Jacobs pleaded no contest to one count of battery and one count of criminal damage to property. During the plea proceedings, he told the court he was taking "full responsibility" for his behavior, according to the outlet.

What did Jacobs say about his return?

Speaking to reporters inside the Packers' locker room, Jacobs said he was "sorry for putting this team in this situation."

"Sometimes when you go through life, situations occur," he said, according to the Post. "And a four-second, three-second decision can alter your life, honestly."

He added that he had drawn lessons from the case. "Actually learned a lot throughout this process. Legally and just personally. But, yeah, man. Going forward just try to be better," Jacobs said.

"I'm still a human being, man," he said. "Still trying to learn. Still trying to grow from the whole process."

How has the Packers' coach responded?

Head coach Matt LaFleur addressed the matter with reporters the same day, repeating a defense of his running back that he had offered once before during the suspension, the Post reported.

"I do believe he is a good person," LaFleur said of Jacobs, according to the outlet.

LaFleur did not elaborate further on the team's internal handling of the case, and the Post did not report additional comment from Packers management on Jacobs' reinstatement.

What happens next for Jacobs?

Jacobs is now eligible to practice and play after his removal from the exempt list, clearing the way for what the Post described as his return ahead of Green Bay's upcoming game. He did not specify Wednesday when he expects to take the field, and the team has not detailed any conditions tied to his reinstatement beyond the league's own exempt-list process.

For now, Jacobs said his focus is narrow. "I'm just trying to come back in here and play ball, learn from this mistake and move forward," he said, according to the Post.

The case file and any further conditions attached to Jacobs' no-contest plea were not detailed in available reporting beyond the Sept. 10 court statement cited by the Post.