The NFL has punished Denver Broncos edge defender Jonathon Cooper for a hit he made right this past Monday night.
Cooper's fine of $12,668 is for a "blow to the head/neck" on Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston, who was sacked by Cooper's fellow OLB Nik Bonito on the play. Cooper came in at the end of the play to deliver the hit on Winston:
Cooper was not penalized on the play, but the NFL hitting his bank account after the fact is a way of saying he should've been. Hitting a quarterback in the head is supposed to be flagged regardless of how hard the hit was. Cooper, who had a sack and a tackle for loss outside of this play, made contact with Winston as he was already going down thanks to Bonito.
Denver had a 31-25 lead over Cleveland at the time and the play helped force a Browns punt. Had the flag been thrown, the drive would've been extended with a first down. The Broncos held on to a 41-32 victory that moved them to 8-5 on the year into the bye week.
Cooper, a fourth-year player for Denver with eight sacks on the year, has been fined twice in his career prior to this week. He was billed $4,723 for taunting back in 2022, and another $5,362 for excessive celebration in 2023. Cooper is making $1,971,000 this season in base salary.
Cooper's latest fine is more lucrative than his past two combined, and it's not what anyone wants to face when entering a week off. Denver is back in action next Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
