Green Bay Packers RB Josh Jacobs
Getty
Green Bay Packers RB Josh Jacobs will miss the team's Week 12 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings
After losing two of their previous three games heading into their Week 12 matchup against the division rival Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers can’t afford another tick in the loss column.
The Vikings have been up-and-down since their Week 8 bye, sandwiching losses to the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, and Chicago Bears around their lone win over the Detroit Lions.
And while the Packers will be mostly healthy heading into Sunday’s game against the Vikings, they will be shorthanded at one key position, finding out just hours before kickoff they will have to make some big offensive adjustments.
Star RB Josh Jacobs to Miss Week 12
There was an outside chance that All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs would play Sunday after injuring his knee on the MetLife Stadium turf in last Sunday’s 27-20 win over the New York Giants.
He was limited in practice during the week, and after arriving at Lambeau Field early Sunday morning, it was deemed that Jacobs would sit out Week 12 in the hope of being more rested for Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day matchup with the Lions.
“Josh Jacobs pushed all week to play despite his bone bruise and thigh contusion,” Pelissero wrote on X. “But the Packers decided to play it cautiously with a short week upcoming. There was no pregame workout, just a conversation when Jacobs arrived. There is hope he could play Thanksgiving at Detroit.”
Josh Jacobs pushed all week to play despite his bone bruise and thigh contusion. But the Packers decided to play it cautiously with a short week upcoming. There was no pregame workout, just a conversation when Jacobs arrived. There is hope he could play Thanksgiving at Detroit. https://t.co/UxKCrmCZLh
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 23, 2025
Emanuel Wilson will start in Jacobs’ place. The 26-year-old tailback is second on the team with 220 yards rushing on 53 carries. He has one of the team’s 12 rushing touchdowns (Jacobs has the other 11).
Wilson has rushed for 807 yards and 5 touchdowns across 34 games in three seasons.
Jacobs’ scratch didn’t come as much of a surprise given the cryptic nature of head coach Matt LaFleur’s comments about his status during the week.
“Yeah, I’d say he’ll be limited, and we’ll see what he can do,” LaFleur stated. “Just talking to him, he’s feeling pretty good, so we’ll see when we get out there. … It’s a collective decision, always. First of all, he has to be medical cleared. His level of confidence, and then we’ll all discuss and make a decision.”
How Bad is Jacobs’ Injury?
Jacobs suffered his knee injury in the first half of Week 11. He rushed 7 times for 40 yards before exiting to the locker room for further evaluation.
The injury happened after he was pushed out of bounds on the right sideline. As he fell to the ground, his left knee crashed hard into the unforgiving MetLife turf. After getting checked out in the blue medical tent, Jacobs returned to the field, but he left the game moments later after favoring his knee again.
Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT
Josh Jacobs is OUT with a knee injury. Here is the play where it happened. Based on the mechanism it could be a
-PCL sprain
Knee hit the ground which causes this type of injury
On Thursday, Jacobs admitted that he was still in some pain and that the damage was seemingly healing slowly.
“Josh Jacobs says 60% of his knee swelling is gone,” The Athletics’s Matt Schneidman wrote on X. “Now about getting range of motion back. Said he’s truly day-to-day and wants to play Sunday. Got hurt on second play of game and left in second quarter when he felt he was hurting the team.”