Jonathon Cooper (Denver Broncos linebacker)

Introduction

Jonathon Cooper is a Denver Broncos outside linebacker who spent the first six weeks of the 2026 NFL season on the commissioner’s exempt list after being arrested twice in a seven-day span in June on domestic-violence charges, including a felony count of second-degree assault by strangulation. On Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, the NFL removed him from the exempt list, making him eligible to play in Denver’s Week 7 game against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 25 . He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has not stood trial; the league’s own review under the Personal Conduct Policy remains open, and it can still discipline him . He is not to be confused with the several other people named Cooper who are documented in separate entries on this site.

Background Information

Cooper, 28, is a sixth-year linebacker out of Ohio State whom Denver drafted in the seventh round in 2021. He has 31.5 sacks in 81 career games, including eight sacks last season, and had started every game in each of the past three seasons . The case grew out of his relationship with a woman he had dated on and off for about four years, who lived with him in Parker, Colorado .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not tried; league review ongoing. Cooper faces a felony strangulation-assault count and three misdemeanors from two June arrests — accusations by prosecutors, not findings. He has pleaded not guilty, his trial is months away, and he is entitled to the presumption of innocence. His own account of the first incident, and the reporting officer’s noted inconsistencies in the accuser’s statements, are part of the record below.

Police were called to Cooper’s apartment in the 9500 block of S. Twenty Mile Road in Parker at about 8:42 p.m. on June 3, 2026, after an argument between Cooper and his then-girlfriend over cheating allegations and their cell phones; he was arrested early on June 4 and booked into the Douglas County jail . Both were arrested on misdemeanor domestic-violence and criminal-mischief counts. Per the arrest affidavit, the woman said she threw Cooper’s phone, picked it up to go through it, and that a struggle over the phone followed in which Cooper, by her account, grabbed her by the neck, lifted her against a wall for about a minute, threw her down repeatedly and punched the wall beside her; Cooper told police he “braced his neck against [her] neck to prevent her from getting his phone,” and admitted he bit her phone, breaking it .

The initial report noted conflicting statements: the responding officer wrote that he saw no probable cause for harassment or assault charges given the lack of specific physical evidence, observing only a small neck mark and scratches that he did not consider consistent with the account of being lifted and thrown . The woman was then taken for a forensic nurse exam, after which prosecutors concluded otherwise: a nurse found the choking caused a “serious bodily injury” carrying a “substantial risk of death” or of traumatic brain injury, and the 23rd Judicial District Attorney added a felony count of second-degree assault by strangulation, plus third-degree assault, to Cooper’s charges .

A week later, on June 11, Cooper was arrested again: prosecutors allege that despite a court order barring him from harassing, intimidating or tampering with the woman, he sent her about 20 text messages, called her twice, then went to her apartment and knocked — conduct she recorded through her peephole — bringing charges of violating a protective order and harassment . The charges against the woman were dropped about two weeks later; Cooper, in all, now faces five counts — the felony and four misdemeanors . He pleaded not guilty — first to the original criminal-mischief count in June, and on Aug. 31 to the felony and remaining charges, when a trial was set for Nov. 10 . On Aug. 30 — the weekend before that plea — Commissioner Roger Goodell had placed him on the exempt list, barring him from practices and games while the league reviewed potential Personal Conduct Policy violations . His trial, originally set for Nov. 10, has been pushed back to March 2-4, 2027, with a pretrial hearing in February .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The exempt-list removal was the league’s first concrete consequence, and it cost Cooper the first six weeks of the season even as he continued to be paid and to attend meetings and workouts . The team stayed publicly measured: general manager George Paton said at roster cutdowns, “We continue to take this very seriously. We’re going to monitor all the legal developments and continue to support Jonathon,” and coach Sean Payton has repeatedly deferred to the legal process, saying the Broncos’ guidelines for Cooper included therapy . Announcing the removal, the NFL said its review “remains ongoing and is not affected by this change to Cooper’s roster status” .

Current Status

Cooper is off the exempt list and available for Denver’s Week 7 game at Arizona on Oct. 25, with the Broncos giving him a one-week roster exemption while he returns to practice . His legal case is unresolved — a felony trial now scheduled for March 2027 — and the NFL’s investigation remains open, with the league able to suspend him at any point under the Personal Conduct Policy . In a social-media post on his return, Cooper wrote that playing for the Broncos “is a privilege I do not take for granted,” said he had spent the months “working to better myself,” and closed, “Praise God – thank you Jesus” .

Impact on Their Career/Life

The exempt-list weeks are not free: the league counts that time toward any future suspension, and because Personal Conduct Policy suspensions are unpaid, a later suspension would require Cooper to return the game checks he collected while sitting out . For a former seventh-round pick who had started every game for three seasons, the record now holds an open felony strangulation charge, a second arrest for contact with the accuser while under a protective order, and a trial five months away — with his return to the field arriving, unusually, before either the courts or the league have ruled.

Sources

• “NY Post: Broncos’ Jonathon Cooper coming off commissioner’s exempt list” source
• “ESPN: Broncos’ Jonathon Cooper removed from commissioner exempt list” source
• “9NEWS: Broncos player Jonathon Cooper arrested for the 2nd time in a week” source
• “TSN: Broncos’ Cooper pleads not guilty to domestic violence charges” source
• “CBS Colorado: Jonathon Cooper taken off exempt list after trial pushed back” source
• “Denver7/AP: Broncos’ Jonathon Cooper arrested on domestic violence, criminal mischief charges” source
• “Denver Gazette: Broncos LB Jonathon Cooper pleads not guilty to felony assault charge” source
• “CBS Colorado: Jonathon Cooper facing felony charge” source
• “CBS Colorado: Judge drops charges against ex-girlfriend of Jonathon Cooper” source
• “NFL.com: NFL places Broncos OLB Jonathon Cooper on Commissioner’s Exempt List” source
• “NY Post tweet on Cooper’s exempt-list return” source