Jonathon Cooper isn't at Broncos minicamp following second arrest as Sean Payton addresses media

Luca Evans, The Denver Post on Jun 16, 2026

Published in Football

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DENVER — Jonathon Cooper is nowhere near the Denver Broncos as the team practices this week during its three-day minicamp.

Head coach Sean Payton said the Broncos have excused Cooper after the outside linebacker’s second arrest last Thursday on multiple charges that he violated a protection order after his initial arrest on June 4 following a physical altercation with his girlfriend.

“He’s taking this time, obviously,” Payton said. “The club is very much in tune to the league office, local authorities here, and we’ve had several meetings. Clearly from an ownership standpoint, head coach, organizationally — there’s a bar that we have, and an expectation that we have, that’s very high. We’ll consider all of that as we continue to gather the information.”

In total, Cooper is facing five active charges in Douglas County District Court, including felony second-degree assault by strangulation, misdemeanor third-degree assault, misdemeanor criminal mischief, misdemeanor harassment and misdemeanor violation of a protection order.

A source with knowledge of the situation told The Denver Post that Cooper isn’t around the building in any capacity.

Payton acknowledged that “we all know the logistics” and declined to answer further follow-up questions about Cooper having meetings with team brass before his second arrest.

“I don’t think it’s my place to comment any more right now,” Payton said, “because, obviously, it’s a pretty significant issue.”

If found guilty of criminal assault in an NFL investigation, Cooper could face a baseline suspension of six games, with the number of games increasing or decreasing depending on the NFL’s findings. Payton’s mention of the organizational “bar” marks the first time any team official has hinted at potential consequences for Cooper since his June 4 arrest. The Broncos haven’t dealt with a similar legal case involving a player since owners Greg Penner and Carrie Walton Penner took the reins in 2022.

“I mean, he’s our brother at the end of the day, and we all rally behind Coop,” Broncos All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II said Tuesday. “And we just wish him the best with everything. But, just keeping him in good spirits.”

According to arrest affidavits, Cooper and his girlfriend got into an argument over allegations of infidelity 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 on Cooper’s girlfriend that same night 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’s girlfriend was also arrested June 4 by Parker Police for her role in the incident on suspicion of domestic violence and a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief. On Tuesday, a Douglas County judge granted the DA’s office’s motion to dismiss charges against Cooper’s girlfriend.

The 28-year-old Cooper is set to make $12 million in 2026, according to OverTheCap, and has two more years remaining on a four-year, $60 million contract extension signed in November 2024. He played the ninth-most snaps of any Broncos defender in 2025, and finished second on the team in sacks.

Cooper has a hearing on advisement — where he’ll hear the total sum of charges against him — in Douglas County court Wednesday afternoon. His case is expected to proceed to a jury trial, currently slated to begin July 22.

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