Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper will be arraigned on Aug. 31 after appearing virtually Friday for a hearing in a Douglas County courtroom.
Cooper, 28, faces a felony charge of second-degree assault by strangulation and three misdemeanors, including violating a protection order, following two arrests in June.
Cooper was initially arrested following an incident with his girlfriend at his Parker apartment on June 4. The felony second-degree assault by strangulation charge was added by the district attorney’s office following a forensic examination of Cooper’s girlfriend by a nurse at Anschutz Medical Center in Aurora. The nurse concluded that Cooper’s girlfriend sustained “strangulation with hypoxia and traumatic brain injury,” and suffered “substantial risk of death.”
Cooper was arrested again on June 12 on charges of harassment and violating a protection order. Cooper was excused from Broncos minicamp in June and his status with the team remains unresolved. Broncos players report to training camp on July 28, open practice on July 31 and have preseason games scheduled for Aug. 14, 21 and 28.
The arraignment date indicates any potential Cooper trial could be pushed back into the start of the Broncos’ season, which could present the club with a quandary as it maneuvers around the on-field and cultural ramifications of the outside linebacker’s case. Broncos head coach Sean Payton said in June that the club will “follow the league’s guidelines,” as the NFL has been tracking Cooper’s legal proceedings.
The league, in one possible avenue, could decide to place Cooper on the NFL commissioner’s exempt list if his trial indeed extends into the start of the season. That list would ensure the outside linebacker wouldn’t take up a roster spot and would remain away from the team while his legal process plays out.
If Cooper is eventually found guilty of criminal assault via league investigation, the outside linebacker could face a suspension of six games, according to NFL policy. That could leave Denver without a key member of its defense; Cooper has started 51 straight regular-season games for the Broncos, and finished second on the team in sacks in 2025 (8.0).
Denver opens the NFL season on Sept. 14 against the Chiefs in Kansas City.
