GREEN BAY – Head Coach Matt LaFleur said Monday the team is going to let the NFL's investigation into Josh Jacobs proceed without comment, but he expects the running back to remain with the Packers.
He also said he's "hopeful" star edge rusher Micah Parsons can return to practice this week for the first time since recovering from last winter's knee surgery, but there's no timetable for when he'll be available to play in games.
Jacobs has played the last two weeks after spending the season's first six games on the commissioner's exempt list due to the league's investigation into a spring incident that led to him pleading no contest to two misdemeanor charges.
Over the weekend, local police released its report of the May incident, which included past allegations against Jacobs dating back to 2021, and the league announced it would look into them.
"Obviously we're aware of the prior allegations on Josh," LaFleur said. "We're going to allow the NFL to do its process, but I would anticipate him being a member of us moving forward."
Asked if his opinion on Jacobs has changed due to the additional information, LaFleur declined further comment. "We'll just let the process play out," he said.
As for Parsons, the four-time All-Pro could have his practice window to come off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list opened this week, but nothing is definite.
"That would be the intention," LaFleur said. "Again, it's going to be a process trying to get him back, but we're hopeful. It's going to be dependent upon the next couple days, but we're hopeful he'll be able to get out there sometime this week."
Once Parsons does practice for the first time, the Packers will have 21 days to activate him to the 53-man roster. Regarding how long it will take Parsons to get ramped up and ready to play in games, LaFleur termed the situation "fluid" based on how Parsons responds to the workload.
"If I had a bet on it, it's going to be more towards the longer end (of the 21 days) than the shorter end," LaFleur said.
In other personnel news, linebacker Zaire Franklin is now "day to day" with the shin injury that has kept him sidelined the last two games, and he "potentially" could return to practice this week.
LaFleur also said the coaches are continuing to work through what the offensive line's best guard combination will be moving forward with three veterans – Laken Tomlinson, Aaron Banks and Kevin Zeitler – in the mix.
LaFleur felt switching Tomlinson from left guard to right guard last Thursday against Carolina went well, while Banks' return to left guard from a five-game absence was up and down.
"He's missed a lot of time, so there were some plays I thought he looked really good and there were some plays that weren't so great," he said. "That's part of getting back to playing football."
Zeitler signed with the Packers a month ago but has yet to play, and LaFleur stressed he continues to show improvement in getting up to speed after missing the entire offseason and training camp. He didn't rule out rotating players up front during games at some point.
While the line's pass protection has improved considerably compared to earlier in the season, the running game is still struggling, and finding the right combination and continuity up front remains key to getting going on the ground. LaFleur emphasized "there's plenty" of fixable issues that have shown up on the game film.
"There were some looks, especially in the run game, where we've got to be better on our details," he said. "But it didn't fall on one individual. I would say it was more the collective. There were some bad play calls in there as well. It falls on the responsibility of all of us."
