A few days ago, Denver Broncos edge rusher Jonathon Cooper was placed on the NFL commissioner’s exempt list. Per 9News insider Mike Klis, Cooper is expected to miss anywhere from two to six games to start the 2026 regular season. However, he could be subject to further discipline and suspension by the league pending the outcome of his trial.
Yesterday at his arraignment, Cooper plead not guilty to all [five] charges from domestic violence incidents back in June. The trial dates have been set from November
10th to November 13th—with a break on November 11th in observance of Veteran’s Day. The timing of the trial coincides with the Broncos’ Week 10 BYE.
After Monday’s practice, Head Coach Sean Payton provided an update on the situation.
“We wait on the league. In the meantime, the difference now is he’s in the facility, he’s lifting, he’s in the meetings. He can’t practice, and then we just wait for this process to play out,” stated Payton.
In five years with the Broncos, Cooper has played in 81 games with 65 starts. To date, the former seventh-round pick has 266 tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 31.5 sacks, and 63 quarterback hits. With him being sidelined for the foreseeable future, the Broncos will turn to Jonah Elliss, Que Robinson, and Dondrea Tillman to keep their pass rush strong.
Over the course of the offseason, the aforementioned trio has received praise from Payton, Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph, as well as General Manager George Paton. The past two seasons, the Broncos’ defense has led the NFL in sacks. In order to make that three in a row, Elliss, Robinson, and Tillman will have to put together the best seasons of their young NFL careers.
