Will Josh Jacobs play in 2026? Packers GM Brian Gutekunst confirms his expectation

The future of Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs is up in the air.

Jacobs is facing multiple misdemeanor charges stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident at his home back in May.

Since then, it has been revealed there is apparently a video of the incident, which is only going to make things worse for Jacobs, who is now on the Commissioner's Exempt List while the legal process continues to play out.

As Jacobs faces a possible suspension, it remains to be seen if he'll take the field at all in 2026. At this point, all bets are off.

Packers GM expects Jacobs to play in 2026

However, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst did tell reporters on Tuesday that he expects Jacobs to play for the Packers this season.

He did not say when that could happen, though, nor did he give an answer about the team possibly releasing Jacobs at some point.

"Brian Gutekunst expects Josh Jacobs to play for the Packers this season," The Athletic's Matt Schneidman reported. "Asked if there’s a scenario in which the Packers release Jacobs, Gutekunst says he wants to let the process play out."

As far as the aforementioned video is concerned, Gutekunst said he has not seen it.

"Gutekunst said they have not seen the garage video police mentioned in the Jacobs incident report," Schneidman added.

Who is Packers' starting RB without Jacobs?

It's hard to say who is going to get the majority of the snaps at running back at this point, but we do know MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks are in the running.

Lloyd is a 2024 third-round pick of the Packers whose career has been marred by injury. He has only played in one game since being drafted and has six career carries for 15 yards and one catch for three yards.

Brooks is the most experienced back on the 53-man roster with his 82 career carries over 41 contests. He has stuck around with the Packers for two seasons and might have the highest level of trust with the coaching staff, which could lead to more work for him over the other backs.

Another wild card in all of this is former Pittsburgh Steelers third-round Kaleb Johnson, who was acquired via trade on cutdown day.

Johnson's first season was nothing short of a disaster, as he failed to earn any semblance of a role.

Perhaps the Packers can turn his career around, but we'll have to see it to believe it. We would not consider Johnson much of a factor in this backfield early in the year, as he still needs to learn the offense and has less than two weeks to do it.

Brooks and Lloyd are the ones fantasy football managers need to pay attention to. We lean Brooks because of his experience, but this will likely be more of a 50/50 split until a hot hand emerges.