Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper pleaded not guilty Monday to felony assault charges stemming from his June arrest.
A trial is set for Nov. 10.
Cooper was arrested in June following an argument with his girlfriend, according to an affidavit.
Cooper’s girlfriend told police she was arguing with him at their Parker apartment after accusing him of cheating. She said she grabbed Cooper’s phone, threw it across the room and began going through it, according to the affidavit.
Cooper then engaged in a physical struggle with her, grabbed her arm and took the phone back.
She then attempted to take the phone back, and Cooper “braced his neck against (her) neck to prevent her from getting his phone,” the affidavit states.
After the struggle ended, Cooper admitted he told her he would break her phone if she did not leave the apartment. When she did not leave, he bit the phone, causing “disabling damage,” according to the affidavit.
Cooper faces charges including felony assault by strangulation, assault that knowingly or recklessly causes injury, criminal mischief and violating a protective order.
He is out on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond.
“We wait on the league,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said Monday. “The difference now is he’s in the (team’s) facility. He’s lifting. He’s in the meetings. He can’t practice. And then we just wait for this process to play out.”
Cooper was placed on the NFL Commissioner’s Exempt List on Sunday. The Broncos play at the Carolina Panthers in Week 9 on Nov. 8, two days before Cooper’s trial is scheduled. The team then enters a bye week before hosting the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 22.
“We continue to take this very seriously,” Broncos general manager George Paton said Sunday. “We’re going to monitor all the legal developments, continue to support Jonathon. Jonathon has worked very hard to better himself and it will be good to have him in the building, be in meetings and just be a part of the team.”
Cooper has played the past five seasons with Denver, recording 27 sacks in the last three. He played two series in the Broncos’ 34-6 win over Minnesota on Friday in the preseason finale.
It is unclear how long Cooper will remain on the commissioner’s list, but he will continue to be paid while on it.
“The National Football League today placed Jonathon Cooper of the Denver Broncos on the Commissioner’s Exempt List,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement provided to The Denver Gazette Sunday. “Cooper may not practice or attend games while on the list.”
Denver Gazette reporters Matt Kyle and Chris Tomasson contributed to this report.