Denver Broncos: Team moves on from right tackle Ja’Wuan James
The Denver Broncos have decided the fate of Ja’Wuan James.
The 2019 free agent signing’s time with the team is officially over after the team released him. James suffered a torn Achilles tendon while working out away from the team facility.
The Broncos will not have to pay James his salary due to that reason, but according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, James and his representatives are going to fight to try and get some of that money from the team.
Looking further into this. Termination of Ja'Wuan James as post-June 1 "non-football injury" means:
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) May 14, 2021
One, with "NFI" designation, guarantees are automatically voided. No $10.58M.
Two, w/James off the team doesn't appear Broncos will go after $3M pro-rated signing bonus. #9sports
James really should not have any leverage at this point, right? He suffered the injury on his own time, and also played just 63 total offensive snaps in 2019, which ended up being the only time he spent on the field during a game throughout his two seasons.
Well, no leverage for the $10.58 million, anyway.
In 2020, James opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns. The NFL allowed players to make that decision, forgoing his salary for that year. Due to COVID, the league put a system in place where high-risk players received $350,000 instead of their regular salary. Players who opted out voluntarily (not high-risk; just concerned for health) received $150,000 instead of their salary.
The Broncos signed James to a 4-year, $51 million contract in 2019 and based off of that as well as his total time on the field, it is clear that he has ended up being one of the biggest free agent signing busts in NFL history.
The Denver Broncos hope the signing of Bobby Massie and Cameron Fleming will be the resolution to their right tackle issues that they have gone through for many years now.
Massie and Fleming will compete for the starting job.
Regardless of how you feel about James, we should all wish him the very best in his recovery from this injury that could ultimately make his chances of catching on with a new team very slim.