Jonathon Cooper

Jonathon Cooper (born January 8, 1998) is an American professional football outside linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Early life Cooper was born on January 8, 1998, in Gahanna, Ohio. His mother, Jessica Moorman, who was 17 years old at the time, was a high school student with college aspirations who worked a part-time job at an accounting firm. Initially, Moorman felt she was not ready for the responsibility of raising a child and planned to put Cooper up for adoption. However, after Cooper was born nine weeks premature and weighing only 4 pounds, she decided to raise him herself. After spending two months with Cooper in the intensive care unit, she would go on to graduate from high school and earn her college degree.

Cooper began playing football at 6 years old, citing his mother's work ethic as a primary inspiration. Prior to beginning high school at Gahanna-Lincoln, Cooper and his mother created a workout circuit for him in their basement.

College career Cooper played college football at Ohio State University from 2016 to 2020. Over 45 games during his career, he had 75 tackles and 10 sacks. Cooper was the first Ohio State player to ever wear the number 0, which was awarded to him for his leadership qualities.

Two days before the NFL draft, doctors discovered an atrial fibrillation in Cooper's heart. His heart rhythm was particularly abnormal, and would ultimately require three separate heart procedures to treat. Broncos general manager George Paton commented that he and his staff were aware of Cooper's health complications, but were enamored by his motor and leadership.

Ahead of the 2023 season, Cooper changed his jersey number from 53 to 0, the number he wore at Ohio State. Cooper lead the Broncos in sacks in 2023, with eight and a half.

On November 4, 2024, Cooper signed a four-year, $60 million extension with the Broncos after starting the season with five and a half sacks through nine games.

On March 21, 2025, Cooper's contract was restructured to clear cap space. Cooper was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 6 after recording 2.0 sacks in a win against the New York Jets.

On August 30, 2026, Cooper was placed on the commissioner's exempt list due to his ongoing domestic violence charges.

NFL career statistics Legend Led the league Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2021 DEN 16 5 38 22 16 2.5 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2022 DEN 14 9 48 23 25 2.0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2023 DEN 17 17 72 44 28 8.5 8 1 4 4.0 4 0 2 1 0 2 35 1 2024 DEN 17 17 58 33 25 10.5 11 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2025 DEN 17 17 50 23 27 8.0 8 0 0 0.0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0Career 81 65 266 145 121 31.5 33 1 4 4.0 4 0 7 2 0 3 35 1

Postseason Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2024 DEN 1 1 3 1 2 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2025 DEN 2 2 4 4 0 1.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Career 3 3 7 5 2 1.0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Legal issues

On June 5, 2026, Cooper and his girlfriend were arrested and held on suspicion of two counts of domestic violence and one count of criminal mischief. The arrest occurred after an argument and physical confrontation that began over cheating allegations and included both of their cellphones being damaged. Cooper allegedly bit into his girlfriend's phone, causing disabling damage to it. The same day, Cooper appeared in court and was released on personal recognizance. A motions hearing was June 6, 2026. Cooper's jury trial was also scheduled to start on July 22, 2026. On June 11, Cooper was arrested again and charged with two additional counts of domestic violence, one for harassment via repeated phone calls and one for violating a restraining order.