The NFL had the decency to do what the Broncos wouldn’t.
Roger Goodell placed Jonathon Cooper on the commissioner’s exempt list on Sunday. Hopefully, he closed the door when doing the Broncos’ dirty work.
The team chose to support Cooper as he faced a felony assault charge for strangulation, along with three other lesser charges connected to a pair of domestic violence-related arrests in June.
For the first time, Cooper is suffering football consequences. He cannot participate in practices and games while the league investigates whether to suspend him under the personal conduct policy.
“We continue to take this very serious. And we are going to monitor all the legal developments and continue to support Jonathon,” general manager George Paton said Sunday night. “Jonathon has worked very hard to better himself. It will be good to have him in the building.”
Cooper can attend meetings, work out at the facility and get paid — until the league reaches a resolution.
But he cannot play.
This is a bigger deal than most think, given the Week 1 opponent.
Cooper has performed his best against the Chiefs, delivering 4.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits in 10 games, career-highs against any team.
His absence puts the onus on his teammates to step up, beginning in one of the toughest venues in the sport: Arrowhead Stadium. On Monday Night. With the return of quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs will pull out all the stops, save for Taylor Swift performing at halftime and “ChiefsAholic” getting a weekend furlough to wear his gray wolf suit one more time.
The Broncos are 1-9 in their last 10 games in Kansas City. But 1-0 in their last appearance, snapping a nine-game skid last Christmas.
Of the few concerns about this season’s team, one is consistently overlooked: defensive regression.
The unit quietly went from a roadblock to a detour a year ago.
The Broncos allowed 13.8 points over the first 11 games.
Over the final nine, including the playoffs, the number jumped to 19.8, and it would have been worse had they not faced forgettable backups Chris Oladokun and Trey Lance in the final two weeks of the regular season.
Determined to start fast in the face of a wicked opening six-game schedule, the Broncos will have to do it without Cooper, who has five quarterback hits and two sacks in five road games against the Chiefs.
Whether you believe Cooper is guilty or innocent — remember, he can still be banned for multiple games by the NFL without a conviction — his actions put the Broncos in a difficult spot.
Don’t be surprised if Nik Bonitto knows more about chips than the folks at Frito-Lay after the opener. He is going to get double-teamed more than Nikola Jokic.
Remember, Bonitto has never started a game without Cooper on the opposite side. And while Cooper is best known for setting the edge, his ability to reach the quarterback demands respect.
The Broncos chose to let Cooper practice, believing he deserved another chance after he completed inpatient therapy at a clinic near Vail for roughly 40 days. He took starters’ snaps, and played in all three preseason games, even though it was always likely he would miss time.
It can be argued that a heavy workload was appropriate given the possibility of a long layoff. It can also be reasoned that the bulk of those snaps should have gone to Jonah Elliss, the third edge rusher all summer, with a few extras sprinkled in for Dondrea Tillman and Que Robinson.
The Broncos began the offseason determined to move Elliss to inside linebacker. On June 4, coach Sean Payton ended the experiment, saying he was staying at edge. The next day, Cooper and his former girlfriend were arrested.
Elliss is relentless. His effort annoys tackles. But he has yet to reach his potential. Why? He has dealt with multiple shoulder issues and a hamstring injury during his first two seasons. He played one of his best games last year against the Chiefs, registering a half-sack and two quarterback hits.
It means Elliss can meet the moment. But it also means he must prove it because it came against a quarterback who looked like he should be throwing passes on the beach to Daejon Love.
Tillman is a playmaker. He is also a utility player. More snaps won’t necessarily make him more effective.
The man who can cover for Cooper is Robinson. He finished last season with four tackles for loss, four quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks in 162 snaps. But he never played more than 34 as a rookie.
Elliss and Tillman are steady and have played in big games. Robinson is capable of a starburst and has the highest ceiling.
“After the season, watching the cut-ups, when Que played, he played really well,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “He looked like a guy who can be a future starter.”
Those remarks made their way back to Robinson, providing a boost over the last month.
“It is a motivator for sure. I can’t get it out of my head. I know it takes a lot for a coach to say something like that,” Robinson said Friday. “With V.J., I just want to prove him right. Having the rest of guys, like Coop and Nik behind me and the rest of the guys believe in me. .. they can see it just as much as I do. That helps a lot.”
Entering his second season, Robinson has never been needed more. Cooper is out, and the Broncos don’t know when he will return.
Paton believes in the depth. But let’s be real, for the Broncos not to miss Cooper, they need a certain 25-year-old from the University of Alabama to go from in the queue to performing on cue.
“I thought about that during every preseason game, what that (Monday) night will be like. After I hear the national anthem I get a little emotional. I almost cry because as a kid this is what I would dream for. And you know, it seems surreal,” Robinson said. “But, I am a guy who is willing to dominate a game and take over if need be.”
Come Sept. 14, apountry will hold him to it.
