It was reported following the Denver Broncos' Week 6 win over the Seahawks that starting outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper was being removed from the commissioner's exempt list and could return to play for Sunday's road matchup at Arizona.
On Monday, as the team turned its attention to the Cardinals, head coach Sean Payton praised Cooper for taking the requisite steps with the NFL to see the field in 2026 following his domestic violence-related arrests over the summer.
“He initiated the steps right away himself," Payton told the media via conference call. "I won’t go into detail all the things that he felt were important. I think the league was on the same page, the club. A lot of it becomes a league issue at that point. To his credit, he didn’t back away at all from what he felt like was necessary.”
Cooper had been on the exempt list since Aug. 30, days before Denver's regular-season opener while awaiting a trial, which directly impacts when he can play football again. ESPN's Jeff Legwold reported on Oct. 16 that "he was in Douglas County (Colo.) court last week for a motions hearing and has a March 2-4 trial scheduled in his case, with a pretrial hearing set for Feb. 19."
Legwold also noted that "his time on the exempt list -- the first six weeks of the regular season -- would count toward any league-mandated suspension in the future. If suspended, however, he would have to return the weekly game checks he has received because suspensions from the personal conduct policy are without pay."
Cooper — whose conditions to return this season included meeting with a therapist — attended weight-lifting sessions, participated in meetings, and was generally active inside the Broncos facility during his stint on the exempt list, Payton revealed in August.
“We wait on the league," he said on Aug. 31. "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.”
Cooper Could, and Should, Play in Week 7
The Broncos were granted a one-week roster exemption for Cooper's impending return to the active roster, from which the club must make a corresponding move, as it's at the 53-man limit. That move is likely to come in short order.
Even on a limited snap count — it'll be his first meaningful action since January, after all — Cooper should slide back into his old starting job opposite Nik Bonitto, especially with OLB Jonah Elliss nursing a leg injury from last Thursday's victory in Seattle.
Cooper, who's amassed 31.5 sacks across his six-year career, also gets a plus matchup against pocket-passing Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Brisett has been sacked 12 times in six games — and was taken down five times in Arizona's Week 5 loss to Detroit.
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