The Ja’Wuan James era is finally over in Denver

According to Pro Football Talk, Ja’Wuan James settled his grievance with the Denver Broncos for $1.09 million.

To say the James era in Denver is finally over would be a bit of an overstatement, considering we saw little to nothing of him in a Broncos uniform.

In March 2019, then general manager John Elway signed James to a four-year contract worth $52 million dollars. The contract also included $32 million in guarantees. The size of the contract left some fans and analysts a little skeptical. In his five seasons with the Miami Dolphins, his only two good seasons game in 2015 and 2016. In his other seasons there, he struggled with injuries and occasional poor play.

At the time of the signing, the Broncos' right tackle position was finally solved. But it never came to fruition.

James would only play three games in 2019 after he suffered a knee injury in Week 1. in 2020, James chose to opt-out of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, James tore his Achilles at an offsite training facility. The Broncos chose to cut their losses and was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list. He would be released from the list shortly after.

James signed that big contract, and played three total games in orange and blue. THREE.

Somehow, despite the mess that occurred over the past few seasons with him in Denver, James got a two-year contract from the Baltimore Ravens in 2021. What exactly was appealing about what happened with James and the Broncos that inspired them to sign him? He hasn’t played a regular season game since 2019!

Regardless, James tried to squeeze more money out of the Broncos in his grievance. He reportedly wanted $15 million, but settled on $1.09 million. His Achilles injury in 2021 cost him $9.85 million from his guaranteed salary.

As much of a mess as the whole situation was, it’s now officially settled. Congrats to James and the heist he pulled off on the Broncos. Hindsight is 20/20, after all.

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