Pack-A-Day Podcast - Episode 2864: Can the Packers Win Without Josh Jacobs?
By AndyHerman
On today's show, Andy looks at how the Packers could adapt in 2026 without Josh Jacobs, if necessary.
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.
__________________________
Andy is a graduate of UW-Oshkosh and owns & operates the Pack-A-Day Podcast. Andy has taken multiple courses in NFL scouting and is an Editor for Packer Report. Andy grew up in Green Bay and is a lifelong season ticket holder - follow him on Twitter @AndyHermanNFL!
__________________________
Comments (8)
golfpacker61
May 29, 2026 at 10:21 am
Losing Jacobs for 6-8 games to start the year is unacceptable. Are we willing to throw away 3-4 potential wins if Jacobs is unavailable? He has become a very real liability because of this incident and GB should move on. If a player is untradeable for character issues, then there is no reason to keep damaging the reputation of the Packers. This sideshow will gain steam every day and road games will be intolerable for our players. There was plenty of "chatter already this off season of moving Jacobs because of money alone. I read somewhere yesterday that a June 1 release/trade would save GB $11 million this year.
This incident, whether true or not, is a real black eye for the Packers and they should not wait for a trial to make a decision. Public opinion will be way in favor of moving on from Jacobs and while GB probably loses very few " going to the games fans", but they will lose regular Packers fans for sure. The damage is done for Jacobs no matter what the outcome is for him. Again, Green Bay should just cut their losses and move on. He can be replaced at a minimal cost and GB could have a running back "by committee" this year.
A 3rd round pick for a 3rd/4th string RB like Vidal, Benson, or Braelon Allen seems kind of high for any of them. A 5th with a 7th coming back would seem like more than enough for any of them.
Guam
May 29, 2026 at 11:27 am
Guilty until proven innocent gp61?
This could be an angry girlfriend lashing out after a verbal argument or something very much worse. I don't like prejudging anyone and will let the legal system do its work before I judge Jacobs. The court of public opinion is a lousy place to render a verdict. I hope the Packers don't over-react.
BTW the downvote is not mine.
golfpacker61
May 29, 2026 at 11:53 am
No Guam, I do believe everyone is innocent until proven guilty, that is an American right. I am also not pre-judging Jacobs even though the accusations are damning. This could very well be a case that he was baited into an altercation, but that would never justify hitting or strangling someone.
Court of public opinion or not, the Packers organization will not want this incident to linger because it will just continue to do more damage to the team. This situation undoubtedly will draw Jacobs teammates into giving an opinion on the matter and that would be bad for them too.
This whole thing is a really bad situation and Green Bay is in an unenviable position, no matter what they do they will lose. Some fans will support Jacobs no matter what, but a lot of them will have the opinion that the rich, entitled player will get handled with kid gloves, because that happens alot.
It's a bad look because Jacobs was one of the Packers leaders. If I was a betting person, I would say GB moves on to avoid further embarrassment and saving $11 million this year and $13 million next year will also be a big factor.
I wouldn't wish this on the Bears.
Leatherhead
May 29, 2026 at 04:34 pm
""" If I was a betting person, I would say GB moves on to avoid further embarrassment and saving $11 million this year and $13 million next year will also be a big factor."""
I agree with your conclusion, but not necessarily the road you took to get there. To me, as a practical matter, you're probably going to have to replace Jacobs for at least half the games this season. And the cap savings are pretty significant. But you can't just do this if you don't have a replacement.
Bitternotsour
May 29, 2026 at 04:46 pm
I agree you wouldn't necessarily wish this on the Bears. It is totally a VIking sort of thing.
NFLfan
May 29, 2026 at 12:41 pm
There is enough non-legal information out there-two unrelated neighbors called 911-there has been property damage. Stefon Diggs went through something similar and though he has been exonerated, it has taken months and he lost his position to Romeo Doubs on the Patriots, but he is a known hot-head. He will likely be signed by a some team but he has suffered financially.
GB has an already thin RB room which may color 'things'
MitchAnthony
May 31, 2026 at 11:51 am
Two unrelated neighbors called 911 because they "heard" things and they didn't necessarily "see" things and we do not know the actual details of what they heard other than it was a disturbance. It is a good guess that both Jacobs and the girlfriend were contributing to the disturbance in some degree.
There was property damage. Okay, who damaged it? What property was it? Could it be Jacobs decided to damage his own property, or her property? Or could she have even been damaging some of his property? Or did they take care of a little bit of both? We do not know, yet.
Yes indeed, domestic abuse is terrible. It is especially terrible in a family situation where children have to be exposed to it. Thankfully in this situation that dynamic is not a factor.
Understand something about a mandatory arrest domestic abuse law. There will be a mandatory arrest. There is legal language that includes words like: will, shall, and must and those words are commanding. There is no officer discretion. When for whatever reason Jacobs did not stick around to tell his side of the story, you then only have her side of the story to base the initial report on and what happens is what happened. Some have suggested that a judge issued a warrant for his arrest. That did not happen. This was a fresh arrest based on the initial information of the report and the fact that it checked the box of a mandatory arrest. The "locate" did not involve a judge and warrant.
Both Jacobs and the girlfriend have agency here. They decided to enter into this relationship with each other. Jacobs thought it was a good idea to hook up with an influencer who goes from relationship to relationship with professional athletes and shares much of that info with the world at large. As people look at this through the lens of offender and victim perceptions don't forget this may not be as black and white as initially perceived. This is not to say blame the victim. Not at all. This is not to say believe Jacobs. Not at all. They both have a part in their relationship and we just don't know yet.
KKB
May 30, 2026 at 06:18 pm
RB1 - Bo Melton