‘Not Guilty’: Broncos Star Jonathon Cooper Faces Judge in Felony Strangulation Case — Trial Set for November

On Sundays, Jonathon Cooper’s job is chasing quarterbacks. On Monday, the Denver Broncos edge rusher walked into a different kind of arena — a Douglas County courtroom — where the only thing on the line was his future.

Cooper appeared for a motions hearing on October 12 as his felony assault case moves toward a trial scheduled for mid-November. The 28-year-old pass rusher pleaded not guilty back in August to felony second-degree assault by strangulation, a charge stemming from allegations involving his then-girlfriend. He also faces three misdemeanor counts, including two counts of violating a protection order following two separate arrests in June — arrests first reported by TMZ that sent shockwaves through Broncos Country just as training camp was getting underway.

Monday’s hearing was procedural, not dramatic. No new arrest. No new charges. Just the slow machinery of the legal system grinding forward while Cooper’s football career sits in a strange kind of limbo.

The timeline tells its own story. The two June arrests — first reported by TMZ — landed like a thunderclap just as training camp opened, with the strangulation allegation and the alleged protection-order violations painting a picture prosecutors clearly found serious enough to pursue as a felony. Cooper’s not-guilty plea in August set the adversarial tone: he is fighting every count, and his legal team has given no indication of seeking a deal.

That matters because second-degree assault by strangulation is not a charge that fades quietly. In Colorado, a felony conviction could mean years behind bars — a stakes-are-everything reality that explains why both sides are lawyering this one to the hilt.

Paid to Wait: The Exempt List Explained

Since the season kicked off, Cooper has been on the NFL’s Commissioner’s Exempt List — a paid leave that keeps him off the field while his case plays out. It is not a suspension and not a finding of guilt; it is the league’s way of hitting pause when a player’s legal situation becomes a distraction the sport can’t ignore.

According to NBC Sports, Cooper has been permitted to travel with the team to away games, a small sign that the door back to the field isn’t fully closed. But exempt-list players cannot practice or play, which means one of Denver’s most productive edge rushers has been reduced to a spectator during a season when the Broncos’ pass rush was supposed to be a strength.

The Broncos have said little publicly, sticking to the standard line that they are aware of the situation and cooperating with the league. The NFL, for its part, typically waits for the legal process to conclude before handing down any discipline of its own — which means even a November trial won’t necessarily be the end of the story.

What Happens Next

Cooper is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and his not-guilty plea means prosecutors will have to prove their case at trial. His attorneys have not telegraphed their defense strategy, but the mid-November trial date sets up a collision course: just as the Broncos push toward the playoff stretch, their sidelined star will be fighting for his freedom in court instead of fighting through offensive lines on Sundays.

For Broncos fans, it’s a gut punch wrapped in a legal brief. Cooper, a former Ohio State standout, had developed into exactly the kind of homegrown pass rusher Denver has spent years trying to find. Now the only sacks anyone is talking about are the ones in the court filings.

The November trial will decide far more than one man’s liberty. It will decide whether the Broncos get their edge rusher back — or have to start over at a position they thought was settled.