Jonathan Cooper is facing legal issues stemming from two June arrests. Although such issues do not regularly produce releases, the Broncos did excuse the outside linebacker starter from minicamp while he navigates off-field issues.
A scenario in which the Broncos move forward with Cooper while he lands on the reserve/suspended list — should the NFL act before the season starts — following his two arrests involving an incident with his girlfriend would align with how teams usually proceed in cases like this. The issue of voiding future guarantees is mostly immaterial, but Cooper did see a hefty 2026 guarantee ($11.49MM) trigger in March. No guarantees are on the Broncos’ books beyond 2026, though they did restructure Cooper’s contract this offseason.
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The Broncos’ decision on Cooper, hit with a second-degree felony assault charge in addition to the misdemeanor domestic violence and criminal mischief charges from his first arrest (which produced a not guilty plea), would also involve notable dead money due to the team turning to his contract in a restructure to create cap space.
Denver cutting Cooper with a post-June 1 designation, as it did with Dre Greenlaw this year, in 2027 would be the more logical move. But he must first avoid legal trouble before the prospect of an NFL suspension and Broncos second chance emerges. The team may soon — from a Cooper suspension or release — need to turn to its younger batch of Nik Bonitto sidekicks.
Jonah Elliss has served as the Broncos’ No. 3 OLB for most of his career, and while the team was set to experiment with him in an off-ball linebacking role (brothers Kaden and Christian‘s position), Sean Payton did not follow through and deemed the former third-rounder too valuable as an edge rusher. The Broncos also roster UFL product Dondrea Tillman, the oft-injured Drew Sanders and 2025 fourth-rounder Que Robinson. GM George Paton said in January he sees Robinson carrying the highest upside of anyone in the team’s 2025 draft class, and Vance Joseph said recently — in between Cooper arrests — he sees the Alabama product as a potential future starter, per the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel.
The Broncos’ since-nixed Elliss ILB experiment was aimed at generating more Robinson playing time; the former Will Anderson Jr./Dallas Turner Crimson Tide backup played 150 defensive snaps last season, being active in just six regular-season games. Robinson registered a half-sack in the regular season but dropped Drake Maye once in the AFC championship game.
Robinson only registered six sacks in four Alabama seasons and is already 25 (Cooper is 28). The former five-star recruit played just 370 college snaps, though the pedigree coming out of high school undoubtedly helped him.
Cooper is the first Bronco arrested since the current ownership group purchased the franchise in summer 2022, Gabriel adds, so a decision will be interesting here with regards to how the team will do business.
Becoming a full-time starter in 2023, Cooper played well enough the Broncos were comfortable trading Randy Gregory and cutting Frank Clark in 2023 and then sending Baron Browning to the Cardinals in 2024. The team extended Cooper just before trading his former Ohio State teammate, and he has tallied 27 sacks over the past three seasons.
Denver has Cooper on a team-friendly deal — four years, $54MM — considering his resume, and the March restructure saved $8.2MM on the team’s 2026 payroll. The Broncos added void years to Cooper’s pact, and the restructure would create an $18.8MM dead cap charge — which would be spread over two years — in the event of a release. Though, Gabriel adds the Broncos can go after up to $17.1MM in signing bonus money if they choose to release Cooper post-suspension.
In seeing the speedy pass rusher produce as he has while being tied to the 35th-highest salary among edge rushers, the Broncos have a bargain here. But Cooper’s future with the team is foggy. Robinson’s growth could certainly affect how the Broncos view Cooper long term.
