Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs pleaded no contest Thursday to misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property, according to reporting from Matt Schneidman that was amplified by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The development resolves a major part of the legal uncertainty that has surrounded Jacobs since his May arrest, but it does not automatically put him back on a football field.

Jacobs currently remains on the NFL’s Commissioner’s Exempt List. The league placed him on the list Aug. 30, preventing him from practicing or attending games while the NFL reviews the matter. He continues to be paid while on the list and does not count against Green Bay’s 53-man roster.

The focus now shifts squarely toward the NFL.

The Plea Opens the Door for an NFL Decision

Jacobs’ no-contest pleas do not dictate what punishment the NFL will impose.

The league operates its own disciplinary process under the Personal Conduct Policy and does not need a criminal conviction to determine that a violation occurred. The NFL’s policy specifically states that someone convicted or subject to a disposition in a criminal proceeding can face discipline. It also establishes a six-game baseline for a first violation involving domestic violence or dating violence, subject to aggravating or mitigating factors.

The important distinction is that Jacobs was charged with misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property, not a criminal offense carrying a domestic-violence enhancer. That does not prevent the NFL from independently determining that the underlying conduct falls within its policy.

So a six-game suspension should not be treated as automatic. It is one possible outcome depending on the league’s findings.

Green Bay had already been preparing for uncertainty. General manager Brian Gutekunst said earlier this month that he expected Jacobs to play at some point this season, while acknowledging the process needed to run its course.

Jacobs Could Receive Credit for Games Already Missed

This is where the calendar becomes important.

Under Article 46 of the NFL collective bargaining agreement, games missed while a player is on the Commissioner’s Exempt List are credited against a suspension later imposed under the Personal Conduct Policy. If those games become suspension credit, the player must repay the salary he received for the credited games.

That rule creates several possible paths.

The NFL could keep Jacobs on the exempt list while completing its review. It could remove him without imposing an immediate suspension. It could announce discipline and begin counting the games he has already missed toward that punishment.

The plea makes a league decision easier to reach because the criminal proceeding is no longer sitting in the same unresolved posture it was when Jacobs was initially placed on paid leave.

It does not tell us how many games the NFL will choose.

The Lions Could Be Directly Affected

There is a Detroit-specific date worth circling.

Green Bay’s first six games run through its Oct. 18 matchup with Dallas. The Packers then travel to Ford Field to face Detroit on Oct. 25 in Week 7, part of a schedule that puts Green Bay directly in Detroit’s path after the Lions’ bye. The Packers and Lions are also scheduled to meet again in the Week 18 regular-season finale.

Here is the important caveat: this is a calendar illustration, not a prediction.

If the NFL eventually imposed a six-game suspension and credited six missed games from the exempt list, Jacobs could theoretically become eligible in time for Green Bay’s Week 7 trip to Detroit. A shorter punishment could bring him back sooner. A longer one would push his return beyond Ford Field.

The NFL has not announced any such suspension.

For now, Jacobs’ criminal case has taken a major step toward resolution. His football status has not.

Roger Goodell and the league office are next.