15 worst free agent signings in Denver Broncos franchise history

1. Ja'Wuan James, OT (2019)

When it comes to identifying the absolute worst free agent signing in Denver Broncos history, there can be only one. Ja'Wuan James, signed in the 2019 offseason, will be a tough one to top for years to come as one of the worst free agent signings not only in Denver Broncos history, but in all NFL history.

James felt like a gift from the football gods when he signed in 2019. The Broncos had long been struggling at the right tackle position -- as the rest of this article clearly points out -- and James was a relatively young former first-round pick hitting the open market.

The Broncos targeted him, and they landed him. James signed a four-year deal with the Broncos worth $52 million in total money, including $32 million in guarantees. To make a long story short, James would only end up "playing" in three games for the Broncos.

Three games. $52 million, $32 million guaranteed.

After trudging through three games in the 2019 season, surely James would come back in 2020 and have a bounce-back year. At that price, we were all but certain of it. Nope.

James ended up opting out of the 2020 NFL season completely due to the pandemic, which a number of players did. Because he opted out, James' contract tolled to the 2021 season, so the Broncos were not only out a right tackle, but his cap hits moved forward a year as the NFL decreased the salary cap due to the impact of the pandemic.

By the time the 2021 offseason rolled around, there was an ongoing CBA negotiation between the players and NFL. James had been working out at the Broncos facility in the 2021 offseason, getting ready to come back and hopefully start for the team, until it was recommended by the NFLPA that players not work out at team facilities until there was more clarity on the ongoing negotiations.

James took that advice to heart, left the team facility, and almost immediately ruptured his Achilles working out on his own. Because the injury occurred away from the team facility, the Broncos were able to get out of a lot of the money James was still owed, but it turned into a whole thing of James then being upset with the NFLPA and the Broncos, filing a grievance to get some of his guaranteed money back. His decision to work out away from the team facility ended up being a $15 million mistake.

The Broncos released James having "only" ultimately invested $17 million. Still, $17 million over three games in three years is wild. James signed a two-year deal after his 2021 injury with the Ravens, and came back in 2022 hoping to actually play again for the first time since 2019. He suffered another Achilles injury while with Baltimore, effectively ending his NFL career.