Packers show interest in Jonathan Taylor as Josh Jacobs faces NFL review
Green Bay's reported interest in Colts running back Jonathan Taylor signals a desire to move on from Josh Jacobs, whose domestic abuse matters remain under NFL review.
The Green Bay Packers are among the teams that have expressed interest in acquiring Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, a development that points to the club's willingness to move on from Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs. The Colts are widely expected to trade Taylor before the NFL's Nov. 10 trade deadline, and the Packers' interest stands out because of the legal problems surrounding Jacobs, who is currently on Green Bay's roster.
The interest was reported by OutKick and Fox News Digital, which confirmed that several teams have shown varying degrees of interest in Taylor. The list includes the Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants and the Packers. While most of those clubs are primarily seeking more consistent production in the running game, the Packers' interest is viewed as more pointed because Jacobs' future in Green Bay appears uncertain.
Jacobs, 28, has appeared in two games for the Packers this season after spending the first six games on the Commissioner's Exempt List, a status that effectively amounts to a paid suspension. That time away followed Jacobs' no-contest plea in September to battery and criminal-damage-to-property charges. Those charges stemmed from a May domestic incident involving his former girlfriend.
The NFL's scrutiny of Jacobs has continued beyond that case. The league said Saturday that it is reviewing previously unreported allegations that Jacobs physically abused three other women. That review expanded after police records released Oct. 30 showed that the three women had contacted authorities about alleged physical or verbal abuse by Jacobs in incidents dating to 2021.
Jacobs' attorneys, David Z. Chesnoff, Richard A. Schonfeld and Clarence F. Duchac III, issued a statement Saturday saying police had weighed the allegations from the three other women and proceeded with only two misdemeanor charges. The reported NFL suspension under the league's Personal Conduct Policy remains in progress, and the newer allegations could factor into its outcome. Regardless of timing, the allegations add to a growing list of domestic abuse claims tied to Jacobs and create ongoing pressure on the Packers, who have continued to stand by the player.
Taylor, meanwhile, is among the league's leading rushers and is tied for the league lead with eight rushing touchdowns. The reported cost of a deal is steep. The Colts are seeking terms modeled on the 2022 trade that sent Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers to the San Francisco 49ers, in which San Francisco sent Carolina a second-, third- and fourth-round pick in 2023 along with a fifth-round pick in 2024. Acquiring Taylor would therefore require Green Bay to give up significant draft capital.
Moving Jacobs could also carry financial effects. The Packers could free roughly $5 million in salary cap space by releasing him before the trade deadline, though the team would absorb a dead cap charge for the rest of this season and next. The cap savings for 2027, the final year of Jacobs' contract, would be around $13 million. Taken together, the reported interest in Taylor, the unresolved NFL review of Jacobs and the potential cap relief suggest that Green Bay is weighing a clean break from a running back whose legal issues have become a continuing concern.
4
