Denver Broncos: Options to replace RT Ja’Wuan James

The Denver Broncos now have to replace starting RT Ja’Wuan James for 2020.

Over 40 players across the NFL have opted out of the 2020 season and more names are being added to the list by the day. One of the latest and most notable names added to the list? Denver Broncos right tackle Ja’Wuan James.

James missed most of the 2019 season for the Broncos despite being cleared by the team medically because of the mental hurdle of coming back from a significant knee injury. James’ lack of availability in 2019 was frustrating for all involved, but 2020 was supposed to be a clean slate.

This news was met with a lot of negativity on Twitter from Denver Broncos fans.

Among other things discussed in the note from James, the former big-ticket free agent pickup says that part of the reason he’s opting out is the fact that he now has a young child, as well as the fact that a family member of his has already been hospitalized due to COVID-19.

James also says that a false narrative was painted about him last season with his injury and recovery.

That is a fascinating claim from James and there’s more to that story than everyone knows, because the Broncos were not shy about saying James was medically cleared to play.

Regardless of the 2019 story, James won’t be playing in 2020. The Broncos now have to replace him in the starting lineup, and if they promote from within, they are also going to have to shuffle their offensive line group around elsewhere on the roster.

Who takes James’ spot in 2020? Let’s look at some of the options.

Internal Options

The Broncos may not have great internal options to replace Ja’Wuan James, but they do have some options.

The top option and right now the most likely option is that James is replaced by Elijah Wilkinson.

Wilkinson was an undrafted free agent out of UMass in 2017 and became a starter for the Broncos at both right guard and right tackle with injuries suffered by former big-money free agents Ron Leary and Ja’Wuan James, respectively.

Wilkinson has not had a ton of success as a pass protector with some heavy feet, and he’s coming into a tough situation at training camp with foot surgery landing him on the PUP list to open the Broncos’ only on-field OTAs so far in 2020.

Even though Wilkinson is expected to be healthy by the time the Broncos put the pads on in mid-August, he’s currently still working his way back. If the team lined up an offensive line today, the top option at right tackle might be Jake Rodgers, a reserve/future player who signed last year and seemingly struggled badly in preseason play before making the final roster.

The Broncos also seem to like Calvin Anderson, an undrafted free agent in 2019 who was poached off the New York Jets’ practice squad. Anderson spent part of his college career with Rice and the final year with the Texas Longhorns.

The Broncos didn’t play him at all last season, but he’s got the athleticism and physical upside to be a starting-caliber player at the NFL level, either on the left side or the right.

Quinn Bailey is another former UDFA who spent the majority of the 2019 season on the practice squad. He was called up for one game at the end of the year, so it’s safe to say the Broncos have a positive future outlook for him as well.

Remaining Veteran Free Agents

Even though the majority of veteran free agents have been picked over, there are still some intriguing names out there who could potentially fill in for a year.

The big thing right now is, these players are going to have to go through extensive medical screening to sign off the street for NFL teams, so if the Broncos want to bring in a free agent offensive tackle, they need to get that process going swiftly.

Cordy Glenn

Glenn was a starter at left tackle for the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals when healthy. He’s primarily played on the left side in his career, but he’s also got some guard experience dating back to his college days at Georgia.

The big issue with Glenn has to be health because he’s a talented player and former high draft pick who is only 30.

Donald Penn

Penn has been mostly a left tackle his entire NFL career, which has been a long time.

He’s been in the NFL since 2006 and has started 189 total games in that time. He played last season for the Washington Football Team after spending the previous five seasons in Oakland with the Raiders.

He said earlier in the 2020 offseason that he’s pushing off retirement to play another year, hopefully.

Jared Veldheer

Veldheer was acquired by the Broncos in a 2018 trade and he was pretty good in the 12 games he played for Denver.

He decided to retire in 2019 but then changed his mind and wound up appearing in two games with the Green Bay Packers.

Veldheer talked at the time of his return to the NFL about the importance of getting his body right. He could certainly be a candidate to return to Denver and be a starter at the age of 33.

Demar Dotson

An 11-year veteran who played his entire career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dotson was not retained by Tampa Bay in 2020 and they replaced him in the NFL Draft with Tristan Wirfs.

At the age of 34 this season, that doesn’t bode super well for his 2020 prospects but he has started 106 games in the NFL. Something that might be a turn-off for Broncos fans? Dotson was called for 10 penalties in 2019.

Riley Reiff, Minnesota Vikings

Now we enter trade territory.

If you want to find a capable replacement for the high-priced Ja’Wuan James, you might have to give something up in a trade to get it done.

Even though John Elway is a tough negotiator in free agent contracts, he has made some shrewd trades in his time, and it could be time for another.

The Minnesota Vikings have certainly not made Riley Reiff overly available in a trade, but actions speak much louder than words.

Reiff has two years left on his contract with the Vikings, and Minnesota just used a second-round draft choice on Boise State left tackle Ezra Cleveland.

With Cleveland the clear choice moving forward for the Vikings and Brian O’Neill establishing himself on the other side of the line, Reiff might be able to be had for a price, especially since he’s going to count more than $13 million on the Vikings’ cap over the next two seasons.

Reiff does have experience at the right tackle position, and interestingly enough, he also has experience with new Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.

The Vikings signed Reiff to a five-year deal in 2017, Shurmur’s first year as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator.

Reiff also played one year with new Broncos right guard Graham Glasgow in Detroit (2016).

Combine all of that with the fact that Broncos GM John Elway has an obvious relationship and connection with Vikings offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, and you could have the perfect recipe for a deal to get done.

At the age of 31, Reiff might be one of the top options the Broncos could realistically obtain at this point in time.

Chukwuma Okorafor, Pittsburgh Steelers

In his final year with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2018), Mike Munchak got a developmental tackle in the third round of the NFL Draft in Western Michigan’s Chukwuma Okorafor.

Since the Broncos have been in the market for a right tackle for about seven years now, Okorafor was a name that popped up in a lot of mock drafts in 2018 for Denver.

He could be circling back as an option again in 2020.

The Steelers certainly don’t have to get rid of Okorafor, a young player with upside as a starter in the future, but if the Broncos could present the right value, the fit for a trade could be there.

The Broncos and Steelers came together for a big trade in the 2019 NFL Draft when Pittsburgh moved up 10 spots to select Michigan linebacker Devin Bush.

Matt Feiler and Alejandro Villanueva are the incumbent starters at tackle for Pittsburgh, and Zach Banner was the primary swing guy in 2019.

Okorafor is a young player the Broncos could take a shot on in a trade.

Tyrell Crosby, Detroit Lions

Another player who was picked for the Broncos plenty in 2018 mock draft scenarios was Oregon Ducks offensive tackle Tyrell Crosby.

Crosby looked like a total steal for the Lions in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and he got his first starting action as an injury replacement in 2019 for Ricky Wagner.

Wagner has since departed for the Green Bay Packers, but instead of inserting Crosby into the lineup on a full-time basis, the Lions went out and signed Halapoulivaati Vaitai from the Philadelphia Eagles.

They also drafted multiple interior linemen and signed some other veterans to help round out their offensive line depth.

With two years left on his contract, the Lions may not be in a hurry to trade Crosby to another team, but again, the Broncos could come in with a strong offer. He played right tackle last season for Detroit and again, he’s got familiarity playing on that side of the line with Graham Glasgow, one of a number of Detroit players who came to Denver in 2020 free agency.

Other trade options

Chris Hubbard, Browns

The Browns were certainly not well-known last year for their pass protection, and Hubbard was replaced by two huge investments from the new regime in Cleveland — Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills.

With those two guys coming in as the bookend tackles, Hubbard could be an odd man out and he has a lot of experience working with Mike Munchak.

From 2014-2017, Hubbard was developed into a second-contract player by Munchak after signing as a reserve/future player with Pittsburgh in 2013.

Michael Schofield, Panthers

The Broncos could look to an old pal and try to swing a trade for Michael Schofield, who signed a free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers this offseason.

Schofield was a third-round pick by the Broncos in 2014, and he’s started all but 10 games that he’s played in since 2015.

He’s played primarily guard, but Schofield has tackle flexibility as well.