Trial Date For Broncos Star Linebacker Moved To March

The Denver Broncos have been struggling to adjust to life without star linebacker Jonathon Cooper, and it looks like that could continue for an extended stretch as a result of a court hearing on Monday that moved Cooper’s trial for a felony assault charge to next March. 

A judge set Cooper’s new trial date for March 2-4 at a hearing in Douglas County, per a report from Sam Jane of the Denver Post. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Feb. 19, and another motion hearing is set for Feb. 23. Cooper waived his right to a speedy trial during a motions hearing on Monday, according to his attorney, Harvey Steinberg.

The 28-year old Cooper is currently facing a felony assault charge along with several lesser charges stemming from two arrests in June following multiple incidents with his former girlfriend. Cooper pleaded not guilty to all charges in August  and was previously scheduled to stand trial in November.

Cooper is currently on the NFL’s commissioner’s exempt list, and he’s also the subject of an NFL investigation related to the charges based on potential violations of the league’s Personal Conduct Policy. 

The list bars him from playing or practicing with the Broncos, but he can train at Denver’s facility and attend team meetings while the NFL investigates potential violations of the policy.

The judge at Monday’s hearing also made a ruling that allows Cooper to travel with the team for the Broncos’ six remaining away games. Steinberg also added the playoffs and the Super Bowl to that request during a verbal exchange in court, but the judge said the court will “cross that bridge if and when we need to.” 

From a football perspective, the Broncos' next away game occurs on Oct. 25 against the Arizona Cardinals, and it’s the seventh game of the season for Denver. Jane referenced the NFL’s base guidelines dictating a six-game suspension without pay for a first offense involving “domestic violence, assault, battery or sexual assault involving physical force.”

Cooper’s trial is now set to take place after the NFL season ends, and if the commissioner removes him from the exempt list and then suspends him, the suspension would be served retroactively. That would mean the games he has already missed this season could count toward his ultimate suspension, according to Jane. 

The Broncos opted not to release Cooper afer the arrests, and he went to an inpatient clinic near Vail for more than a month, then reported to training camp with the rest of the veterans on July 29. 

Steinberg was also asked about the possibility of a settlement with Cooper and the alleged victim, and he said, “No.”