Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs was arrested Tuesday and faces five criminal charges in Wisconsin, including strangulation and suffocation, after police responded over the weekend to a disturbance complaint involving him, according to local authorities. Hobart/Lawrence police chief Michael Renkas said Jacobs was booked into Brown County Jail on charges of strangulation and suffocation, battery-domestic abuse, criminal damage to property-domestic abuse, disorderly conduct-domestic abuse and intimidation of a victim. Police said the case remains an active and ongoing investigation, and no additional information will be released at this time.
According to Renkas, officers were dispatched to a complaint involving Jacobs on Saturday at 8:37 a.m. The arrest on Tuesday came as the Packers began organized team activities, putting the team in the middle of its offseason program while the legal situation develops. Packers coach Matt LaFleur was scheduled to speak with reporters on Wednesday, but the team has already said it will not comment further because the matter is ongoing.
Jacobs’ attorneys, David Chesnoff, Richard Schonfeld and Clarence Duchac, issued a statement denying the allegations. They said Jacobs “vehemently denies” the accusations and that the case is still in the early stages of investigation, with important evidence not yet made public. The defense called for fairness and restraint as the judicial process continues.
The Packers also acknowledged the report in a brief statement, saying they are aware of the matter and will withhold further comment because it is an active legal situation. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league is aware of the report and has been in contact with the club.
Jacobs is one of the Packers’ most important offensive players and the team’s top returning rusher. He ran for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns last season after joining Green Bay, following a standout 2024 campaign in which he rushed for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns and earned his third Pro Bowl selection. Before that, Jacobs spent his first five NFL seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, where he became one of the league’s top running backs and earned All-Pro honors in 2022 after leading the NFL with 1,653 rushing yards.
The case now places a prominent Packers player under legal scrutiny at the start of the team’s offseason work. While authorities have offered few details, the charges are serious and include allegations involving domestic abuse and intimidation of a victim. Jacobs and his legal team have denied wrongdoing and said the matter should be handled through the courts. For now, police, the Packers and the NFL are all treating the situation as active, with more facts expected to emerge as the investigation continues.
