Broncos' Jonathon Cooper placed on commissioner's exempt list

Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post on Aug 30, 2026

Published in Football

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DENVER — Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list Sunday by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

The placement means Cooper will continue to be paid for the time being, but he cannot practice with Denver or play in games. Cooper, 28, is set to be arraigned Monday in Douglas County on a felony assault charge for strangulation along with a series of lesser charges. They all stem from a pair of domestic violence-related arrests over a week in June.

The timing of the placement by Goodell is important for the Broncos because it delivers them clarity for their initial 53-man roster, which must be set Sunday.

A player being placed on the commissioner’s exempt list is a way to remove a player from the field while the league continues to review a matter for potential violations of personal conduct policy. Cooper, then, could still face a suspension at the end of the league’s review.

The way that timeline works, according to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement: Any games Cooper misses while on the exempt list will count toward a suspension if one is levied. So, if Cooper spends three games on the exempt list and ultimately is suspended for six, for example, he will be out three more games. However, in that instance, Cooper would then repay the three games’ worth of money he earned while on the exempt list, because suspensions are unpaid.

Meanwhile, Cooper is expected to enter a plea and have a trial date set at his arraignment unless some kind of agreement between the prosecution and Cooper’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, is struck before 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Cooper was first arrested June 5 and again June 12, first following an argument with his now former girlfriend which resulted, eventually, in a felony assault charge alleging strangulation, according to court records and arrest affidavits. Then he was arrested again a week later for violating a protection order after he sent his girlfriend 20 unreturned messages, some graphic in nature, and knocked on her apartment door for “5-10 minutes,” according to a separate arrest affidavit.

The Broncos opted not to release Cooper in the immediate aftermath of the pair of arrests. Instead, he went to an in-patient clinic near Vail for more than a month and then reported with the rest of the Broncos veterans for training camp on July 29.

Cooper is now likely to miss at least some games early in the season, a substantial loss for a defense that is expected to be among the league’s best again this fall.

Cooper paired with Nik Bonitto as one of the most disruptive edge-rushing duos in the NFL over the past two seasons. Cooper got off to a disruptive start last year, racking up six sacks in Denver’s first seven games before logging just two more in the final 10.

If he is not available to the Broncos early in the season, Jonah Elliss, Que Robinson and Dondrea Tillman are in line to see an increase in their playing time and production.

Cooper, a seventh-round draft pick in 2021, signed a four-year contract extension with a $54 million base value in November 2024. Of that, Cooper made $15 million through the 2025 season and is due to make $12 million more in 2026.

Cooper appeared in all 16 games as a rookie and started five while also playing a heavy dose of special teams. He started nine games and played in 14 during the 2022 season. Since then, the former Ohio State standout had started all 17 games three straight years since Payton became the head coach. In that time, his pass-rush production took off, too. Cooper logged 8.5 sacks in 2023, then a career-best 10.5 in 2024 before eight more last year.

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