Jonathan Javell Cooper (born January 19, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

seventh overall in the 2013 NFL draft. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he earned All-American honors. He also spent time with the New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Early life

Cooper was born on January 19, 1990. A native of

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

, he attended John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington, where he played football and competed in

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

and track. He played football as a guard, but also saw time at defensive end. In his senior year, he paved the way for three players who rushed for 600 yards or more, while Hoggard won the state 4-A championship with a 16–0 record. Cooper was voted the conference's player of the year as an offensive lineman. In addition to football, he was a standout heavyweight wrestler. He also competed in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

on the track & field team, recording a top-throw of 14.58 meters (47 ft 2 in) at the 2008 NCHSAA 4A East Regional, where he placed 3rd. Regarded as a three-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', Cooper was listed as the No. 21 offensive guard prospect in his class.

College career

Cooper accepted a football scholarship from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a redshirt freshman, he started 10 games at left guard and saw action on 579 snaps. He sat out the

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, Georgia Tech and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

games due to an ankle injury. Still, Cooper recorded a team-best 40 knock-down blocks on the season and owned a 73-percent grade. He was named to the All-ACC freshman team by '' The Sporting News''. As a sophomore, Cooper started all 13 games in the regular season and played a team-high 875 snaps. For the second straight year, he led the Tar Heels in knock-down blocks with 55 on the year. Cooper graded out at 83 percent for the season, tied with James Hurst for the best mark on the team. Against William & Mary, he played all 71 snaps and graded out at a season-best 92 percent with seven knock-downs. Cooper earned second-team All-ACC honors at offensive guard. As a junior, Cooper started all 13 games at left guard. He saw action on 864 plays and graded out at 86 percent for the season, good for second on the team. He earned second-team All-ACC honors, and along with left tackle James Hurst, was part of the first Carolina offensive line tandem to earn All-ACC honors since 1993. As a senior, he started all 12 games and paved the way for the ACC's leading rusher Giovani Bernard. He was a consensus All-American selection and received the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the best offensive lineman in the ACC. He finished his college career with a school record 48 starts.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Cooper was widely considered one of the top guard prospects in the 2013 NFL draft, along with Chance Warmack. After the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

, ''

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'' projected him as the No. 10 overall selection. North Carolina had not seen one of their offensive lineman taken in the first round since tackle Harris Barton was selected in the first round with the 22nd overall pick by the

in 1987.

Arizona Cardinals

Cooper was selected in the first round with the seventh overall pick by the

in the 2013 NFL draft. He was the highest selected offensive guard since Jim Dombrowski in the 1986 NFL draft. On July 28, 2013, Cooper was signed to a four-year, $14.55 million contract. He was given the starting left guard position in OTAs. On August 24, in the third preseason game against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

, Cooper broke his left fibula. On August 30, the Cardinals placed him on the injured reserve list. It has been speculated that he was never the same player following this injury. In 2014, he was named the starter at left guard even though he was slow to recover from his previous injury and battled through a turf toe and knee injury in training camp. The injuries forced the Cardinals to name Ted Larsen as the starter at left guard to begin the season. In week 14 against the Kansas City Chiefs, an ankle injury to left guard Paul Fanaika opened the door for Cooper to have his first career start. He injured his left wrist in the next contest against the St. Louis Rams. He was declared inactive in the last 2 regular season games and the playoffs. In 2015, he was moved to the right guard starting position after the team signed All-Pro Mike Iupati, but he suffered a knee injury against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 10. He was declared inactive in 2 games because of the injury and returned as a backup behind Larsen for the rest of the season. The Cardinals were planning to move Cooper to center during the 2016 offseason.

New England Patriots

On March 15, 2016, Cooper and a second-round draft pick (#61-

Vonn Bell Vonn Christian Bell (born December 12, 1994) is an American professional American football, football Safety (gridiron football position), safety. He played college football at Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio State and was selected by the New ...

) were traded to the New England Patriots in exchange for defensive end Chandler Jones. Cooper was working as a starter at right guard into the third day of training camp, when he suffered a right foot injury that sidelined him, causing him to be passed on the depth chart at guard by Shaq Mason and rookie Ted Karras. He was declared inactive for the first four games of the season until being released on October 8.

Cleveland Browns

On October 10, 2016, Cooper was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns. He was declared inactive in 5 games, until being named the starter at right guard against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

in week 14. He started three of the five games he played. On December 27, Cooper was waived to make room for guard Alvin Bailey, who was being activated from a two-game suspension.

Dallas Cowboys

On January 4, 2017, Cooper was signed by the

to provide depth on the offensive line for the playoffs and to evaluate his performance closely, as the Cowboys had been interested in Cooper since the 2013 NFL draft. On March 14, 2017, Cooper signed a one-year contract with the

to compete for the vacant left guard job after Ronald Leary departed in free agency, with La'el Collins additionally moving to right tackle. He also was tried at center during Organized Team Activities. He was declared inactive for the first three games. He was named the starter at left guard in the fourth game against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in place of an injured Chaz Green, helping to stabilize the offensive line the rest of the season. He started a career-high 13 games, but suffered a sprained left medial collateral ligament in the season finale against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

San Francisco 49ers

On March 20, 2018, Cooper signed with the

on a one-year deal. In training camp, he was limited with his surgically repaired left knee, while competing for the right offensive guard starting position. He was passed on the depth chart by Mike Person and Joshua Garnett. He was released on September 1.

Washington Redskins

On November 5, 2018, he was signed by the

, following season ending injuries to starting offensive linemen Brandon Scherff and Shawn Lauvao. He made his first start as a Redskin on November 11, 2018, playing left guard against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In a game against the

on December 3, Cooper tore his bicep muscle, ending his season. He was placed on the injured reserve list on December 4.

Oakland Raiders

On July 15, 2019, Cooper signed with the

. He was declared inactive in the first 2 games of the season. He was released on September 17.

References

External links

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North Carolina Tar Heels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Jonathan 1990 births Living people Players of American football from Wilmington, North Carolina American football offensive guards North Carolina Tar Heels football players All-American college football players Arizona Cardinals players New England Patriots players Cleveland Browns players Dallas Cowboys players San Francisco 49ers players Washington Redskins players Oakland Raiders players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen