Packers’ $48 Million Star: From Hero to Suspended Zero!

The 2024 season has been rocky for star running back Josh Jacobs, much like the 2-2 Green Bay Packers. The two-time Pro Bowler took over for Aaron Jones in March and signed a four-year, $48 million contract. In four games, he has 329 rushing yards and 52 receiving yards, but he has not yet found the end zone. Jacobs had only 13 touches in Sunday’s close 31-29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, a sharp contrast to his 32 carries for 151 yards just two weeks earlier.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Jacobs was fined $45,020 by the NFL over the weekend for wearing a helmet and being unduly rough with Titans defensive back Quandre Diggs in Week 3. Pelissero added that Jacobs is contesting the fine in an effort to evade additional league sanctions. “Josh Jacobs is appealing his $45,020 fine—his first since the NFL warned him and others before the season that future safety violations could lead to suspension,” Pelissero posted on X. For wearing a helmet twice in 2023, Jacobs was fined; the first helmet was canceled, and the second was lowered.

Pelissero’s update confirmed Jacobs was among players warned by the NFL about safety violations at the start of the 2024 season, as detailed in a September 8 report by ESPN‘s Adam Schefter. The NFL recently alerted over 20 players and their teams that any violations could result in suspensions. Schefter further stated that, if the league’s club remittance policy is reinstated, NFL teams may be penalized for suspending players for safety-related reasons or for breaking personal conduct policies.

In his six-year career, Jacobs, who is 26 years old, has been fined three times, including twice in 2023 while playing for the Las Vegas Raiders. He was selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Jacobs might be suspended for any additional infractions, which would keep him out of the lineup for one or more Packers games if the NFL upholds this most recent fine.