Friday was a sort of “get out of jail” day at the NFL, as Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs and Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper learned they are coming off suspensions on the Commissioner’s Exempt List.
Both players have missed the start of their teams’ seasons — with Cooper missing six games and Jacobs about to miss his sixth game on Sunday — because both were on the Commissioner’s list in connection to domestic abuse allegations and litigation.
But Cooper is coming off the list immediately and will be eligible to play in Denver’s Week 7 game at the Arizona Cardinals because the Broncos already played their Week 6 game.
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Jacobs will come off the list on Monday after the Packers play their Sunday night game against the Dallas Cowboys. Jacobs will be eligible to play in the Packers’ Week 7 game at the Detroit Lions.
So, we good?
Well, not completely.
Both players, arrested in the offseason on charges tied to domestic abuse involving their girlfriends, remain the subjects of ongoing league investigations.
So, if or when new information comes to light about either player relating to their incidents this offseason, they are subject to further discipline.
That stipulation is more likely to affect Cooper than Jacobs.
Why?
Because Jacobs struck a plea deal on Sept. 10 that ostensibly resolved the criminal case he was facing. He pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of battery and criminal damage to property in the case involving his ex.
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Jacobs was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, attend counseling, pay restitution for property he destroyed and have no further contact with the victim.
If the running back meets those conditions for one year, the property damage charge will be dismissed.
Cooper faces a more dicey situation because he has not yet gone to trial and the charges against him allege a greater degree of violence.
Cooper was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List after two domestic-violence-related arrests in June 2026.
The first arrest followed an argument with his then-girlfriend over suspected cheating. Both were arrested, and Cooper initially faced a criminal-mischief charge.
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But authorities said Cooper violated a protective order against him and he was arrested again and charged with second-degree assault by strangulation, third-degree assault, repeated-call harassment and violating the protective order.
Cooper pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A pretrial hearing and a motions hearing are each scheduled for February and the trial is tentatively slated for March.
The outcome of that trial could result in Cooper facing another suspension at the start of the 2027 NFL regular season under the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy.
