Josh Jacobs Is Back: Packers Activate RB1 to Face Lions Sunday
Green Bay's lead back returns after missing six games. He was our RB1 and posted 237 PPR points over 15 games in 2025.
RB1 workhorse back in the lineup after six weeks away.
- Jacobs activated for Sunday vs Detroit
- Missed first six games of 2026 season
- Our #1 overall RB entering the year
- Posted 237 PPR pts over 15 games in 2025
- Lloyd, Johnson, Strong split carries in his absence
Fantasy managers who stashed Josh Jacobs through six games of nothing finally got the payoff they were waiting for. The Packers announced Friday that Jacobs has been activated and will suit up against the Lions on Sunday, closing the book on an absence that cost him the first six games of the year. He'd been sitting on the Commissioner Exempt list and received a one-week roster exemption before the move became official.
Matt LaFleur set the stage earlier Friday, telling reporters that Jacobs had shown enough to prove he's ready to go. This is the same back we ranked #1 at his position heading into the season — and for good reason. In 2025, across 15 games, Jacobs racked up 929 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns, 36 catches and another score through the air, good for 237 actual PPR points.
What the Committee Did Without Him
Green Bay leaned on a rotating cast while Jacobs rehabbed. MarShawn Lloyd was the most productive of the bunch, posting 122 rushing yards, two scores and 44 PPR points over six games in 2026 — enough to land him at RB41 and #189 overall in our ranks. Kaleb Johnson lagged behind with just 104 rushing yards, no touchdowns and 10 PPR points, sitting at RB76. Pierre Strong rounded out the group.
That committee math matters, because Jacobs doesn't just slot back in as a complementary piece. He's the engine of this offense, and the touches that were spread across three backs now funnel back to one. Expect Lloyd's role to shrink immediately and Johnson to fade toward the fringes of the depth chart.
In other roster moves, the Packers activated defensive tackle Jordon Riley off the PUP list, signed wide receiver Coleman Owen to the active roster from the practice squad, and elevated defensive end Arron Mosby on a temporary basis. Owen has yet to register a PPR point across two games in 2025, so he's not a redraft factor.
The verdict's easy: fire Jacobs up Sunday. A six-week layoff might mean a slightly managed workload in game one, but a healthy RB1 against Detroit is a lock-and-load start, not a wait-and-see. On the flip side, Lloyd drops to a desperation flex and Johnson can be cut loose in all but the deepest leagues — the ceiling that made them intriguing just walked back into the huddle.
