Packers Star Josh Jacobs Pleads No Contest Thursday

ESPN’s Rob Demovsky accepted Jacobs’ plea on the condition that he engages in no contact with the victim, undergoes supervision and counseling and pays restitution to the victim. In exchange, the District Attorney will not be seeking jail time.

He was ultimately ordered to pay a $1,000 fine on the battery charge.

Jacobs made a statement accepting responsibility for his actions.

“I fully understand the seriousness of the situation and I take full responsibility,” Jacobs said.

Punishment incoming?

While the legal matter is now almost behind Jacobs, he still has to brace for a punishment from the NFL. He is already on the NFL Commissioner’s Exempt List, which means he can’t play in an NFL game until the league removes him from the list. That could be next week, next month or next year depending on how seriously the league takes it.

The good news for Jacobs (and likely the reason that he pled no contest in the first place) is that by concluding the legal issue now, the NFL can accelerate its decision on his punishment, which will likely be several games. Since he’s already on the Exempt List, any games he misses before the decision is made will count as time served towards his potential punishment.

To make a long story short, Jacobs is probably going to miss Week 1 and perhaps a few more games in September.

But if the Packers are making a playoff push near the end of the season, they shouldn’t have to worry about Jacobs’ legal issues hanging over his head.