Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs says he was paying homage to a gospel song rather than making light of his recent arrest when he briefly had his hands behind his back while celebrating a touchdown Thursday night.
This was Jacobs’s second game of the season after coming off the commissioner’s exempt list. He was placed on that list after charges were filed against him in August stemming from a May altercation with his then-girlfriend during which she said he threw her to the ground.
Jacobs pleaded no contest last month to misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property.
Jacobs had just scored on a one-yard run in the second quarter of the Packers’ 27-19 victory over the Carolina Panthers when he put his hands behind his back for a moment while accepting congratulations from teammates. The video garnered attention on social media as some who watched on television believed Jacobs was simulating getting handcuffed.
Jacobs said he instead was modeling his celebration after a gospel song called Break Every Chain.
“The guys did it with me,” Jacobs said. “I didn’t think it was going to be a thing that can be perceived a certain type of way. But it’s 2026, and it is what it is.”
Jacobs said he had spoken with teammate Savion Williams and other receivers before making his season debut, and they came up with the idea that he would do a celebration thanking God after his first touchdown of the season. That celebration happened Sunday, as he went to his knees and raised his arms aloft after scoring in a 20-17 loss at Detroit.
They also had planned this Break Every Chain celebration after his second touchdown of the season. When Jacobs was asked about putting his hands behind his back as part of the celebration, he noted that the telecast only showed a brief portion of what he did.
“It was more to it than that,” Jacobs said. “They stopped showing the celebration after that. Like I said, it is what it is.”
Jacobs hadn’t been able to play or practice while he was on the commissioner’s exempt list. He was removed from that list last week, enabling him to play again even though the NFL’s investigation of him remains ongoing.
