One Broncos Contract That Will Age Poorly in 2026

The Denver Broncos have a lot going for them entering the 2026 season. They have a great coaching staff, a young franchise quarterback, an elite offensive line, a restocked arsenal, one of the best defenses in the NFL, and excellent depth.

The Broncos have bona fide Super Bowl aspirations. One thing a Super Bowl-caliber team like the Broncos doesn't need is a major off-the-field distraction.

Enter Jonathon Cooper.

Cooper was arrested twice in June, charged with counts of domestic violence and criminal mischief. His two arrests came within a week of each other, splitting the Broncos' voluntary OTA camps.

Head coach Sean Payton is trying to get the ball rolling on a productive offseason training program, and he's having to stand at the podium and answer questions about a player arrest. We're not talking about a DUI, which would be bad enough; the allegations against Cooper involve domestic violence.

Not good for the excellent PR image the Broncos have cultivated under the new ownership of the Walton/Penner group. The PR implications are bad enough, but the charges are serious and disturbing; the Broncos don't want that noise around their football program.

Cooper was excused from mandatory minicamp the following week. It would seem the Broncos wanted to create some distance between the team and Cooper, and now they have six weeks before training camp to figure out what comes next.

The Regression Began in 2025

Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) before the game at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Cooper's contract situation is looking even bleaker in the wake of his arrests. Honestly, though, it was starting to trend that way long before his run-ins with the law.

As a 2021 seventh-round pick, the Broncos gave Cooper a four-year, $54 million contract extension in November of 2024, with $31.7 million guaranteed. He started the 2024 season out with a bang, but didn't finish quite as strongly after getting paid, though he did post a career-high 10.5 sacks.

In 2025, Cooper seemed to initially regain his footing as a pass rusher, totaling seven sacks through the first nine games. However, he faded badly down the stretch, totaling just one additional sack from Weeks 10 through 18, and finishing with eight QB takedowns on the season.

Cooper didn't look like the same player. His get-off and physicality at the point of attack just weren't the same. He had become a concern for me, especially relative to his salary-cap number, well before his arrests.

Cap Situation | Ramifications of a Release

That four-year extension is aging poorly. Entering 2026, Cooper is only on the books for a $5.78 million cap number.

Staring down the barrel of a six-game NFL suspension for violating the Personal Conduct Policy, the Broncos could choose to release Cooper at some point this summer, before the season starts. If they do release him, they'd eat all $5.78 million as a dead-cap hit, with zero cap savings.

However, Cooper's cap number only accounts for 1.9% of the team's entire salary cap. They're not letting a 2% player sink the ship. Believe that.

If the Broncos release Cooper, they'd eat that $5.78 million in 2026, but they'd save $27 million over the next two seasons (2027 and 2028). Considering how many key players are looking for new contracts, and the mega Bo Nix extension coming down the pike in 2027, the Broncos could certainly use the cap savings that releasing Cooper would give them.

OLB Depth to Spare

And it's not as if the outside linebacker cupboards are barren at Broncos HQ. Nik Bonitto is still an All-Pro-caliber player in his prime, and the Broncos have three excellent young rush linebackers behind him, in Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman, and Que Robinson.

Elliss is ready to start yesterday. It would be a seamless transition, going from a Bonitto/Cooper starting duo to Bonitto/Elliss.

If I'm in the Broncos front office right now, I'm ruing the day I extended Cooper. The arrests are simply the rotten cherry on top of a cake that began to go rancid last season.

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