It was reported earlier today that the Denver Broncos have excused outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper from this week’s mandatory minicamp practices after being arrested for the second time last week. After today’s practice, head coach Sean Payton met with the media and confirmed as much, and had a much different tone on the matter than he did last week.
Payton told reporters that Cooper “needs to work on himself,” and that they have had several meetings on the matter. He continued by saying that the ownership, head coach, and organizationally, that “there’s a bar we have and an expectation that’s very high”. He added they will consider all that moving forward as they continue to gather the information and that they are taking it very seriously.
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As we know, Jonathon Cooper has been arrested twice over the span of one week and now faces multiple charges due to an incident with his girlfriend. He was previously present at the Broncos OTA practices after the first arrest and had a long visit with the team to discuss the situation. A few hours after Payton talked to the media for the first time about Cooper’s arrest, it was reported he was arrested once again. Today, Payton met with the media for the first time since Cooper’s second arrest, and he seemed very disappointed over the situation.
Based on his comments, it sure sounds like Cooper’s roster spot could be in jeopardy. Saying he needs to work on himself, the fact they had multiple meetings on the matter, and mentioning they have a bar and expectation that is very high seems pretty damning to me. With that said, they are still collecting all the information and did say that this could take some time, so time will tell how this all works out.
I have mentioned this before, but this current Broncos regime has stressed character and makeup. They have signed good locker room players and leaders and have drafted players with clean backgrounds and prior history of being team leaders. So, I believe they will have a short leash when it comes to these sorts of off-the-field matters. Cooper fit that profile and has been a team leader up until recently, so again, we need to see how this all plays out.
With Cooper sidelined, edge rusher Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman, Que Robinson, and the rest of the Broncos edge rushers will have an opportunity to impress while he is sidelined. Head coach Sean Payton has previously complimented Elliss telling reporters he is too good at edge rusher to move to inside linebacker, and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said last week that Que Robinson looked like a future starter during his rookie year. So, we shall see if they can take advantage of this situation and can earn a bigger role moving forward.
