How will Packers handle Jacobs situation?
Mike Florio and Chris Simms discuss Josh Jacobs' ongoing legal situation and examine how the Packers could handle things as the running back's future is uncertain.
Video Transcript
All right, the Green Bay Packers, they have an issue with running back Josh Jacobs on the commissioner exempt list.
Brian Gutekunst, the general manager of the team, addressed reporters yesterday.
And look, there's a lot of uncertainty, and I've got a little something to add about what I've learned because we don't know whether or not Josh Jacobs will be reinstated before the criminal prosecution ends.
It wouldn't be unprecedented if he was, but the general rule is you're out until the case is over.
Here's Gutekunst from yesterday on if he thinks that Josh Jacobs will play for the Packers in 2026.
I think that's to be seen, but, like, I- I'm certainly hopeful that he will, and certainly would expect that.
But we're gonna let this process play out, and we'll be prepared either way.
Is there any scenario in which you guys release him?
Yeah, I mean, I, I think we'll let the process play out, you know, before, we make any kinda those decisions.
But, you know, we'll see.
Has part of that process been you seeing the video that was- We have not seen the video.
Again, that's, those are legal things going on right now.
So we'll let those play out, you know?
That's really not, you know, for us.
But in the appropriate times, if those, if that, those things, become available, we'll, we'll, we'll figure that stuff out when that time comes.
Now, this is one of the key differences between seeing quotes on social media and actually having a chance to digest the full clip.
My read on this, they're bracing for the possibility of that video coming out and then having no choice but to cut him.
Yeah.
That's my read on it.
Yeah, I hear you.
Hearing the whole thing.
Yep.
Right?
I locked on to a tweet that I saw, and multiple people had tweeted this, the answer about seeing the video.
But when you put that with what he said when he was asked, "Will you cut him?
Will he be on the team?"
You throw it all together, they know what happened with Ray Rice 12 years ago.
Yeah, right.
They are keeping the possibility alive that they may have to, once that video is out there, they may have to cut him.
And that may explain why they haven't seen it.
You know, my reaction when I saw the tweet that they haven't seen it, well, why the hell haven't you seen it?
He's your employee.
It's from his surveillance system at his house.
He's turned it over to the authorities.
It's part of his case file.
The league and the Packers would have every right to say, "We need to see this.
You're not playing again until we see this."
And it reminds me of an argument I had with somebody from the league office w- over the Ray Rice tape.
12 years ago, in August, I said, "How have you not seen the video?"
"Well, we, we don't have access to it.
We can't make his lawyer..." Yes, you can.
You can make the lawyer give it to him.
You say he's never playing again until we see the video.
He owns that video.
It's in his case file.
It's part of the evidence in his case.
He tells the lawyer, "I wanna see the video."
And they said, "No, we're not gonna do that."
I said, "Well, okay, if you don't get it, TMZ's gonna get it," and they did.
So that video's gonna get out there at some point.
And I think the Packers kinda don't wanna see it because they don't wanna see it and think- Yeah.
Yeah and, and then have to sleep- Ignorance is bliss with one eye open- Bliss, yeah worrying about the video coming out.
Yeah.
And then they're gonna have to cut him once the video's out.
What a, what a dilemma that would create.
We see this video and we know I'm not s- I don't know what the video shows.
I'm just reacting to the clip that we just saw.
We see this video and we know, oh, shit, w- this gets out, we, w- we can't.
We can't.
And then we're like, "Well, we're gonna keep him until it gets out, but we're bracing for it to get out.
And the moment it gets out, we're gonna keep him.
And then we gotta deal with the, 'But you saw the video.
Why'd you keep him?'"
So we're We don't wanna see it.
Yeah.
I think that, that that may be the message from the Packers.
Not, "We can't get access to it," because baloney, you can.
"We don't really want to, 'cause we don't like what comes next depending upon what it shows."
Yeah, no, I think there is a little bit of ignorance is bliss there.
I mean, they'll be like, "Hey, hey, wait.
No, I don't wanna I don't, I didn't see it yet.
I don't know where it is, no."
but, but, yeah, I'm sure they don't wanna see it to this point.
You're right.
They're gonna let it play out.
We'll see where it goes.
It's a big deal.
It, it is a big deal.
We're talking about Green Bay.
It's a damn good football team.
And I think on top of that, you know, they're, they're a team that, yes, runs the ball.
We know LaFleur from the Shanahan-McVay coaching, coaching tree, so he believes in that.
And they don't have a running quarterback.
So it's really about traditional running game.
They can't like, "Oh, hey, our guy, our quarterback will help out the running game a little bit 'cause you gotta account for him."
Jordan Love's not that guy.
He's a pocket passer.
That's who he is.
So the traditional running back is very important to the Green Bay Packers.
And then so you don't have Josh Jacobs, and now they're having to put all their eggs in the Marshon Lloyd basket, and he's really talented.
They like him a lot, I know that.
But damn, he hasn't been able to play or stay healthy.
So that's gonna be risky in itself.
And we know it's a big year for Green Bay.
So yeah, I'm interested to see where this goes.
But Josh Jacobs is, is certainly a big part of their success when he's out there.
And let me just say this too.
I don't want us to lose sight of the fact that this all arises from an allegation of domestic violence, and if that occurred, it is reprehensible.
If that occurred, there should be appropriate punishment.
If that occurred, Josh Jacobs deserve every consequence that he gets.
The problem is we have to talk about it in these terms because that's how the NFL handles it.
That's how the teams handle it.
They allow it to become part of a player's availability.
We don't know how much time he's gonna miss on the paid leave list.
We don't know what the Packers are going to do.
So the whole thing gets jumbled together, and it's easy to become desensitized to the reason why we're having the conversation.
Yeah.
The reason we're having it is he possibly did something- For which he should be punished.
He possibly did something for which he should never play in the NFL again.
If it is a privilege and not a right, then maybe he shouldn't.
And he possibly did something that when we see it on video, we will say, "Holy shit."
So I don't wanna lose sight of that.
We're forced to have these conversations about when he's gonna play, and I got all the fantasy football people saying, "Well, how long do you think Josh Jacobs is gonna be out?
Hey, Josh Jacobs is on the board in round nine.
How long do you think he's gonna be out?"
I got a phone call.
Somebody in the media called me up the other day, "Hey, how long is Josh Jacobs gonna be out?"
I mean, they force us to think that way.
Let's not lose sight of the reason why we're having the conversation.
Yeah.
No, I hear you there.
I, I do.
I do.
It's, it's, it's certainly if, if it's bad and whatever, we'll be here to tell you it's bad and get on him.
It's just, it's a tough thing, and you don't wanna rush to judgment.
As you've heard me say a million times before too, you know, it, it's, it's one of the scariest things about our job, this type of subject.
And I've had experience through my playing days into my media days to go, this is one where, you know, you can't just believe everything you read or see sometimes, and you just gotta wait for the facts to come out.
And that's where we, guys like you and me are in a little bit of a, a predicament talking about this stuff.
And I know I got one more thing to say, Gary.
I know that my viewpoint on what Goodell said could be viewed as cynical.
And people will say to me, "Why are you so damn cynical about the NFL and its teams?"
And my response is, "I've been doing this for 25 years.
That's why."
I've seen it all, and I've learned, as you're saying, there's a big difference between what we see, what they tell us, and what goes on behind the curtain.
And we've, we've, we, we've seen it play out so many times, we all should be cynical.
We all should understand- Totally.
Totally it's a magic trick.
Totally.
I, yeah.
That they, they present something to the world that is not the truth.
It happens all the time in every team.
So we should all be cynical about it.
No.
We, we, we should, and, and we can't always take it for what it is 'cause as I've told you in, in, in years past and everything there, even in my experience as players, right?
You know, oh, player got arrested, player got arrested.
Oh, wait, he did do something bad.
Okay.
J- damn, okay.
Good thing he got arrested and he's off our team.
Wait, player got arrested, and then we find out and go, oh, he's just was arrested because he was a big, you know, big Black strong guy or whatever else, and he actually wasn't at fault at all.
So that's where, again, it's dicey, and I don't know what it is here, but again, we will give the appropriate reaction when we know exactly what the hell went on here
