The Denver Broncos seemed to miss edge rusher Jonathon Cooper dearly on Monday night. The Chiefs‘ offense had their way with Denver’s defense to the tune of 392 yards in a 31-10 blowout win on Monday Night Football.
The star edge rusher is on the Commissioner’s Exempt List as he deals with an ongoing legal battle stemming from domestic violence charges. He was arrested twice over the summer, with the first involving a domestic dispute with his girlfriend on June 4. Cooper was arrested again one week later for violating a protection order put in place as a result of the incident.
ESPN’s MNF broadcast briefly spoke on the battle early in the fourth quarter of last night’s matchup.
“Well Joe, we’re seeing this Broncos defense struggle, and it is worth remembering that Jonathon Cooper is not with the Broncos right now, as he is on the Commissioner’s Exempt List after being arrested twice in seven days in June for domestic violence charges,” sideline reporter Laura Rutledge said.
“Cooper pled ‘not guilty’ to a felony assault strangulation charge and three misdemeanors after incidents involving his girlfriend. His trial starts November 10, and as you see right there, he’s responsible for a lot of the success that this defense has also had,” she added.
Broncos legend Justin Simmons, who was selected to four All-Pro teams during his eight years in Denver, voiced his displeasure with the way ESPN handled the situation.
“That’s absolute bs btw. Shame on all of the production on Monday night football and the crew. You’re supposed to call the game. Coop isn’t playing the game and isn’t on the sidelines.” Simmons wrote on X.
Cooper Could’ve Made A Huge Difference For Broncos’ Defense
Cooper wouldn’t have single-handedly cured their tackling woes on Monday night. He would’ve made a difference in the pass-rushing department, though. He’s also a very good run defender and would’ve held his own there.
If ESPN had kicked off the night by talking about his absence, I would agree with Simmons. That would’ve been an example of them attempting to stir the pot. However, they mentioned it when the Broncos were down 31-10 and had already given up well over 300 yards of total offense.
Based on that context, it made sense for the broadcast to mention what the Broncos were missing. It was pertinent to cover why (or partially why) the league’s second-ranked defense from a season ago was struggling mightily to hold up at the line of scrimmage.
Simmons Made A Good Point About Mike Vrabel Situation, Though
While it made some sense to mention Cooper in the context of what the Broncos were missing without him on the field, Simmons also mentioned the obvious distinction in what ESPN chooses to cover. He also called them out for the lack of coverage surrounding Mike Vrabel and Dianni Russini’s alleged affair.
“So we can talk about Jonathon Cooper on TV but not Vrabel? That’s insane.” Simmons wrote.
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has also beaten that drum into submission over the past few months. He blasted ESPN for not providing any coverage for the Vrabel/Russini scandal during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on August 3.
“There was another scandal this offseason involving a voter for MVP. How much time did your network spend on that?” Rodgers said to McAfee.
He later doubled down while making an appearance on Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast last week. “I also said, ‘You’re a gutless organization,’ because they haven’t said anything,” Rodgers said. “They spend so much time on certain issues, but you won’t talk one second about the Danny Russini situation?”
While Simmons’ stance on Cooper can effectively be seen as him looking out for a former teammate (they played together over the safety’s final three years in Denver), he makes a good point about the discrepancy in coverage.
Broncos Legend Blasts MNF Broadcast For Mentioning Jonathon Cooper Legal Battle