The Denver Broncos continue to take care of their own, as they have recently extended Jonathon Cooper for what is a great price. Cooper has turned into an above-average player at his position, but his contract honestly isn't indicative of that.
This isn't a slight at Cooper, but he would have definitely been able to get more on the free agency market in 2025. Denver locking him up for the long-term was the right move, and perhaps the team thinks about also extending Nik Bonitto in the near future as well. Anyway, according to Over The Cap, the average annual value on Cooper's contract is just $13.5 million per season.
Among all EDGEs, that ranks as the 21st most. Yeah, it's that good of a deal. But across the entire NFL, Cooper defensive statistical rankings through the first nine weeks in 2024 are the following:
Tied for the 7th-most QB hits (11)
Tied for the 6th-most tackles for loss (6)
Tied for the 8th-most sacks (5.5)
Jonathon Cooper's contract is a steal for the Broncos
By all accounts, Cooper has been a top-10 pass rusher this year, and mind you, these rankings I just listed were for the entire NFL, not just EDGEs. Remember, Cooper's contract is the 21st-richest among EDGEs.
Sean Payton and George Paton have clearly made a huge priority this past offseason and into the season to reward the home-grown players. Both Patrick Surtain II and Quinn Meinerz became two of the highest-paid players at their respective positions, and now Cooper gets his payday.
The Broncos do have some contracts that they gave to external free agents, but that would never go away. It would not shock me to see the team extend Zach Allen in the near future and even look at extending Nik Bonitto next offseason as well.
The team is excelling in the trenches this season, and them taking care of business with some trench players is great to see. The Broncos may be equipped with upwards of $70 million in cap space next offseason, and the team has some urgent needs that they could address.
One thing is certain - this current Broncos era will continue to take care of their home-grown players, and that's how morale in the lockerroom gets boosted and how you get the players to buy into what you want to create.
The Denver Broncos getting Jonathon Cooper for the price they did is honestly a huge steal and yet another win for the franchise.