Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs arrested on strangulation and domestic abuse charges

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs is facing five criminal charges, including strangulation and suffocation, after police responded to a disturbance complaint involving him on Saturday morning.

Hobart/Lawrence (Wisconsin) Police Chief Michael Renkas said that Jacobs was arrested on Tuesday and 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.

Renkas stated police had been dispatched to a complaint involving Jacobs on Saturday at 8:37am.

“This remains an active and ongoing investigation,” Renkas said in a statement. “No further information will be released at this time.”

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The strangulation and suffocation charge is a felony and the other four charges are misdemeanors, according to the charge information in the Brown County Jail's online record of this case.

Jacobs' lawyers — David Chesnoff, Richard Schonfeld and Clarence Duchac — issued a joint statement on his behalf.

“Josh vehemently denies the allegations, and this matter is in the early stages of investigation with important evidence that has not yet been made public,” they said. “We ask for fairness and restraint while the judicial process takes its course.”

Jacobs is the Packers’ top returning rusher after running for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. That followed a 2024 season in which he ran for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns while earning his third Pro Bowl selection.

He is the only player on Green Bay's roster who rushed for as many as 200 yards for the Packers last season. Emanuel Wilson, the Packers' second-leading rusher last year, signed with the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason.

The Packers began their organized team activities on Tuesday and Packers coach Matt LaFleur has a scheduled availability with reporters on Wednesday.

“We are aware of the matter involving Josh Jacobs,” a Packers spokesman said. “As it is an ongoing legal situation, we will withhold further comment.”

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said that “we are aware of the report and have been in contact with the club.”

Jacobs spent his first five seasons with the Raiders. He earned All-Pro honors and had an NFL-leading 1,653 yards rushing with Las Vegas in 2022.

He has rushed for 7,803 yards and 74 touchdowns in his seven-year career. The only active players with more career touchdown runs are Baltimore's Derrick Henry (122) and Buffalo's Josh Allen (79).