The Denver Broncos need a new right tackle as Ja’Wuan James has decided to opt out of the 2020 season.
Before the 2020 season even begins, we can already confirm that Ja’Wuan James will have played just 63 total snaps for the Denver Broncos in two years.
The 2019 acquisition from the Miami Dolphins, who the Broncos made the highest-paid right tackle at the time, has decided to opt out of the 2020 season. James becomes the second player from the Broncos to make this tough decision. The other one being nose tackle Kyle Peko.
James went down with a severe knee injury early during the 2019 season. He tried to return to the field later on in the season but only lasted one quarter.
This puts the Broncos in an interesting position. They now have a hole at right tackle, but Elijah Wilkinson is now expected to get the start there. If that is the case, then it appears that Garett Bolles automatically has won the starting left tackle spot for the 2020 season—unless, of course, the team decides to bring a veteran into camp now.
Then there is the money factor.
Ja'Wuan James has $10 million full guarantee this year. That moves to 2021. He has already collected $17 million in signing bonus/salary from last year. #9sports https://t.co/57AT6Okc7J
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) August 3, 2020
James' contract tolls ahead a year so ...
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) August 3, 2020
2021: $13 million cap hit
2022: $14 million cap hit
2023: $16 million cap hit
(Now, if #Broncos cut him after '21, it's $6M dead cap hit; after '22, it's $3M.)
Not good.
A lot of people already came to the conclusion that paying James so much money when it was known that he was injury-prone was a bad idea. I won’t fault James for making the decision to opt out of the 2020 season. There have been several already that made the same decision.
Unfortunately, this just won’t sit well with many Broncos fans, no matter the reasoning. Hopefully James comes back for the 2021 season ready to play and be able to stay healthy for the majority, if not all of the games.
If he is unable to do that, he could end up being a trade-gone-wrong for John Elway.
Either way, the Broncos now have question marks at both tackle spots and are going to have to make some decisions not only for 2020, but for the long-term future.