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.
Contents
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.
During his freshman year, Cooper was diagnosed with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, a rare heart condition that often manifests in an abnormally fast heartbeat.
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.
Professional career
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.Heading into the 2021 NFL draft, Cooper expected to be picked somewhere between the third and fifth rounds. However, his health complications caused him to fall to the seventh round, where he was eventually drafted 239th overall by the Denver Broncos. 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.
After missing rookie minicamp, OTAs, and mandatory minicamp due to the heart procedures, Cooper was finally cleared to attend training camp after being sidelined for a month. On June 15, 2021, he signed his four-year rookie contract with the Broncos.
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. He would have his first double-digit sack season by the end of 2024, with 10.5 total sacks recorded.
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
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. On June 8, Cooper appeared in court, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges. 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.