Mile High Sports
Early Friday morning, Denver Broncos outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper was arrested.
It was the first arrest of a Broncos player during the Sean Payton Era, which is starting it’s fourth year in the Mile High City.
How will Payton react, and what happens next are important for this team.
June is the time for players to come together, teammates to bond and meet one another, and to start to get ready for the next season.
OTAs are an island in the middle of an otherwise vast ocean of zero NFL news.
Last week, the Broncos got together and practiced for their first round of OTAs, with the second round coming next week. And then they’re all off for six weeks before training camp kicks off in earnest.
We had some feel good stories from last week. Young players standing out, Courtland Sutton and the wide receiver room embracing Jaylen Waddle, and Payton talking around what he’s really seeing as to give local reporters something—anything—to talk about.
Then Cooper make a huge mistake that put a blemish on the offseason to this point.
Cooper and his girlfriend were both arrested for domestic violence changes, and Cooper’s also includes a criminal mischief charge.
According to the affidavit, Cooper and his girlfriend were arguing over his phone, which she took, threw across the room, and tried to search it. The two then both went for the phone, he grabbed her arm according to her statement, and Cooper pushed her neck with his neck to keep the phone away from her. He also admitted to threatening to break her phone, and then bit her phone in an attempt to break it. Which did disable the device.
From Mike Klis of 9News: “According to the report written by police officer Elijah Hamdeed, there “was no probable cause for harassment or assault charges given conflicting statements and lack of specific physical evidence.”
This is definitely a bad look for Cooper, Payton, and the Broncos in general.
What comes next?
The team said they’re looking into the matter but haven’t offered a statement beyond that.
Payton will be available to the media next week after OTAs, but hasn’t said anything of the matter quite yet. And probably won’t say much then, either.
But what’s interesting is what happens behind closed doors, too.
How will Payton discipline a star player for this public arrest and domestic violence charge?
Cooper was the second-leading sack man on the Broncos last year behind Nik Bonitto, totaling 8 of the team-record 68 sacks. He’s an integral member of the defense and a player who was given a 4-year, $54M contract in 2024.
It’s an interesting situation considering these Broncos are built as a team who loves one another in the locker room. Any time you hear quotes from the locker room, players are hyping one another up, supporting each...
