Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper was placed on the commissioner's exempt list by Roger Goodell.
The NFL announced today that it has placed Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper on the commissioner’s exempt list, with the move from Roger Goodell meaning Cooper will continue be paid but cannot practice or play in games.
The announcement wasn’t unexpected, and Cooper still faces the possibility of being suspended after he was arrested twice back in June related to a domestic violence incident.
The move does give Denver clarity as they make their final roster cuts, and it opens up the possibility that linebacker Ron Stone Jr. could be moved back to the active roster after being on the cut list today.
The other shoe on this move could be Cooper’s impending court date tomorrow, as he’s scheduled to be arraigned in Douglas County. The league may be waiting until after that happens to make a final decision on Cooper’s imminent fate going foward.
If the NFL’s decision is delayed and Cooper misses games while on the exempt list, those games will count toward any suspension, but it’s far more likely that the NFL makes a call about Cooper this week.
Cooper’s move also occurred nearly simultaneously with a similar decision about Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs, who was also placed on paid leave after being charged with five different counts arising from a domestic violoence incident this week, including a pair of battery sharges.
The Broncos have stood by Cooper throughout the aftermath of the incident, even though he ignored what coach Sean Payton called a “conversation” after the first arrest and got arrested a second time.
Cooper then went to an in-patient clinic near Vail, Colorado for more than a month, according to a report from Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post, and he then reported to camp and practiced and saw preseason game action with the Broncos.
The linebacker’s contract calls for him to be paid a base salary of $1.215 million, which he’ll continue to receive, and Cooper also received $10.275 million earlier this year as the Broncos restructured his contract this year.
In addition, he has a per-game bonus of $30,000 for being on the active roster, and that money may be forfeited, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, depending on the contract language.
Per Gabriel’s report, Cooper is expected to enter a plea and have a trial date set at his arraignment unless some kind of agreement between the prosecution and Cooper’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, is struck before 1:30 p.m. Monday CST.
