Tom Pelissero of The Ringer reported that the league is removing two high-profile players from the Commissioner-exempt list. The Broncos outside linebacker Jonathan Cooper missed the first six games of the season while the league investigated a potential personal-conduct violation. Packers running back Josh Jacobs was put on the list on August 30th, after a domestic abuse arrest in May. Both players will be eligible to play starting in Week 7.
For Cooper, he is facing five charges stemming from disputes with his ex-girlfriend. The district attorney’s office continued his motion hearing on Monday. His motion hearing is now scheduled for February 23rd, after this season ends.
Cooper was drafted in the 7th round of the 2021 NFL draft by the Broncos and has played in 81 games. He has 266 tackles in his career, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries. He started all 17 games for Denver in each of the past three seasons.
Jacobs was arrested on May 26th and charged with multiple counts of domestic abuse. Prosecutors formally charged him with two of those counts in August before placing him on the exempt list. He pleaded no contest to both charges last month.
Jacobs is trying to keep footage of the incident from becoming public. He filed a civil suit earlier this week to keep it from being released. After removing the running back from the list, his attorneys released a statement.
“Josh has dedicated the last several months to bettering himself, and he accepts responsibility for his actions. He is excited to get back to work and on the field with his teammates. Josh is grateful for the support he is receiving from his teammates, coaches, the Packers organization, and the greatest fans in the world. Since there are ongoing legal matters, he will not have any further comment.”
Because Jacobs was not formally suspended for this incident, the league can still decide to punish the three-time Pro Bowler if it sees fit.
Jacobs joined the Green Bay Packers in 2024, rushing for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns. He followed that up with a 929-yard, 13-touchdown season last year.
