Ja’Wuan James

Tackle Notes: James, Bills, Eagles, Thomas

March 11th, 2018 at 5:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins may be trying to see if they can unload Ja’Wuan James prior to his fifth-year option becoming guaranteed. A cut candidate, James is set to make $9.34MM on an as-of-now guaranteed-against-injury fifth-year option — which becomes fully guaranteed at 3pm CT Wednesday. Omar Kelly of the Orlando Sentinel reports the Dolphins are shopping the fifth-year right tackle, with the goal appearing to be moving him before free agency and the option vesting. While that is a high salary for a player who hasn’t been especially consistent, and has been injury-prone, plenty of teams are in need of tackle help. Additionally, the Dolphins are planning to re-sign swing tackle Sam Young, Kelly reports. Young, who will turn 31 in June, started six games for Miami last season. He’s a much cheaper option than James, albeit one with a lower ceiling.

Here’s the latest from the tackle market, courtesy of CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora:

On that front, the Bills are still open to trading Cordy Glenn, per JLC, but the team is not going all-out to unload him. Buffalo has seen Glenn suddenly become a perpetual injury risk after he’d been a durable player before his extension, and the team drafted Dion Dawkins in the second round last year. Glenn has a $6.5MM roster bonus due on March 18 and has a lofty $14.45MM cap number in 2018.
Joe Thomas said the Browns‘ moves over the weekend won’t impact his decision to return for a 12th season, but the now-successful podcaster/future Hall of Fame tackle may be leaning toward returning. La Canfora notes the consensus around the league is Thomas will be back with the Browns in 2018. Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal notes Thomas’ decision will likely be known early this week.
Jason Peters plans to play in 2018, and Doug Pederson said he expects the former All-Pro left tackle to be back with the Eagles next season. JLC adds the team has made “no attempts” to trade the 36-year-old blocker thus far this offseason. Peters has a $10.6MM cap number this coming season with Philadelphia, which did not have his services for much of its first Super Bowl season. The Eagles, though, are going to need to make some decisions soon. They remain over the cap with free agency three days away.

AFC Notes: Dolphins, Bortles, Ravens, Chiefs

February 26th, 2018 at 11:50am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Dolphins are “strongly” considering releasing offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James instead of paying his $9.341MM base salary in 2018, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. James, a former first-round pick, is under contract next season thanks to his fifth-year option, but given that his salary is non-guaranteed, Miami can get out of the deal with no penalty. While the Dolphins could speculatively be interested in retaining James at a reduced price, the 25-year-old has little incentive to accept a pay cut, as he’d immediately become one of the best tackles on the open market if he were to be released. Indeed, the top end of an extremely weak free agent tackle class includes Nate Solder, Justin Pugh, Cameron Fleming, and Chris Hubbard, so James would surely draw interest.

Here’s more from the AFC:

Blake Bortles‘ new three-year deal with the Jaguars contains offset language, tweets Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Jacksonville inked Bortles to a $54MM extension over the weekend that includes a partially guaranteed ($6.5MM of $16MM) base salary in 2019. If the former first-round pick flops during the upcoming campaign, the Jaguars could release him next spring and still create $4.5MM worth of cap space. That figure could be even greater thanks to offset language, however, as the Jaguars would be off the hook for whatever salary Bortles hypothetically earns with his next club.
The Ravens and tight end-turned-offensive lineman Crockett Gillmore have mutual interest in new contract, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Reports last week indicated Gillmore would transition to offensive line, and he’s apparently begun the change by packing on “considerable bulk” to aid the move. Baltimore, understandably, wants a “better gauge” of Gillmore’s physical condition, not solely due to his upcoming position switch, but because he missed the entire 2017 with a knee injury. Gillmore, 26, was always considered an outstanding blocking tight end while playing in the 250-pound range.
Cornerback David Amerson inked a one-year deal with the Chiefs earlier this month, and while Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star previously reported the pact has a base value of $2.25MM, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM (Twitter link) has now provided the contract’s specifics. Amerson, 26, receives a $500K signing bonus, a $1MM base salary, $625K in per-game roster bonuses, and a $125K workout bonus. The deal also contains unknown incentives which, as Paylor indicated, could bring the total value of the agreement to $6MM.
In desperate need of offensive line depth, the Bengals recently signed ex-Giants tackle Bobby Hart, but his contract details show that he’s not a lock for Cincinnati’s roster, as Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (Facebook link). Hart got a $50K signing bonus and will collect another $200K bonus if he’s on the Bengals’ Week 1 roster. All told, Hart will be an easy cut for Cincinnati if he doesn’t prove his worth during the summer.

Dolphins To Cut Lawrence Timmons, Julius Thomas

February 22nd, 2018 at 2:57pm CST by Ryan Posner

The Dolphins are planning to cut linebacker Lawrence Timmons and tight end Julius Thomas prior to the beginning of the new league year on March 14 to help relieve cap issues, per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. Salguero also speculates that the team may look to shed the fifth-year option for offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James, making him a free agent.

In total, the move would save the Dolphins $21MM and would open up around $11MM in cap space. As it stands without the cuts, the Dolphins are projected to be $7MM-$8MM over a projected $177MM salary cap, with 55 players under contract.

By cutting Thomas, the Dolphins would save $6.6MM in cap room and would save $5,5 MM by cutting Timmons. If they don’t pick up the option on James, that would save them $9.34MM. Salguero points out that $11MM in cap space may not be enough to make a major splash in free agency this offseason, considering what sources described to him as a shallow free agent pool that could lead to prices being driven up for top-level talent.

Timmons signed a two-year, $12MM with the Dolphins last offseason. He appeared in 14 games (13 starts) and recorded 58 tackles, his lowest total since 2009. Thomas ended his first season with the Dolphins on injured reserve. The two-time Pro Bowler was set to enter the second season of a two-year, $12MM deal. James made eight starts at right tackle last season and has made 47 starts through the first four years of his career.

The Dolphins may be in the market for an outside linebacker, with Koa Misi also due to hit free agency. Backup tight end Anthony Fasano is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason as well.

Dolphins To Place RT Ja’Wuan James On IR

November 11th, 2017 at 11:14am CST by Ben Levine

The Dolphins will be without a key member of their offensive line for the rest of the season. According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (via Twitter), the team has placed right tackle Ja’Wuan James on the injured reserve. Head coach Adam Gase told reporters yesterday that James could be shelved due to a hamstring injury. The Dolphins have activated safety T.J. McDonald off the reserve/suspended list to take his spot on the roster.

James, a 2014 first-round pick out of Tennessee, started all eight games this season. Pro Football Focus was particularly fond of his performance in 2017, ranking him 10th among 78 eligible tackle candidates. The lineman has been a mainstay on the Dolphins over the past four years, having started all 16 games in 2014 and 2016 (he missed nine games in 2015 due to a toe injury). The Dolphins had picked up James’ fifth-year option back in May, which is only guaranteed for injury. In other words, the lineman would have to pass a physical if the team wanted out of the $9.341MM obligation.

With only around $1MM in cap space, the Dolphins will be hard pressed to add reinforcement via free agency. Jesse Davis, who previously started a pair of games at offensive guard, will fill in for James at right tackle. James will join Anthony Steen and Eric Smith on the injured reserve, although Ted Larsen is expected to return from his biceps injury.

Shortly after signing a one-year deal with the Dolphins, McDonald was suspended eight games by the NFL. Following an impressive preseason, the 26-year-old ultimately signed a four-year extension with the organization. McDonald started 16 games for the Rams last season, compiling 64 tackles and six passes defended. He’ll look to displace Reshad Jones or Michael Thomas atop the depth chart.

Ja’Wuan James Facing Season-Ending Injury?

November 10th, 2017 at 12:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ja’Wuan James won’t play in the Dolphins’ Week 10 game against the Panthers on Monday night, and it’s possible the right tackle will miss the rest of the season.

Adam Gase said Friday (via Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald) the fourth-year blocker could miss the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury. Ian Rapoport (Twitter link) said James is out indefinitely. Salguero notes the Dolphins are seeking out opinions from multiple doctors.

James has played in each of Miami’s eight games, and Gase described his play as being good in some of them. This injury is significant because of James’ contract status. The 2014 first-round pick has a fifth-year option of $9.341MM, but the Dolphins can cut bait on that amount before the start of the 2018 league year.

These options are guaranteed for injury only, so James would have to pass a physical for the team to jettison him free of charge. With that deadline nearly five months away, it would stand to reason James could recover from a hamstring malady by decision time.

Of course, the Dolphins don’t have a next-in-line right tackle to potentially replace James, and UFA solutions aren’t cheap. Dolphins OC Clyde Christensen said (via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson) the cap has limited the Dolphins’ ability to bring in a reliable backup to James; Miami holds barely $1MM in cap room. Former UDFA Jesse Davis will make his first start at right tackle on Monday. Davis has started two games at guard but will move to take James’ spot after Ted Larsen returned off IR.

James started 16 games in both 2014 and ’16 but played in only seven in 2015. A toe injury ended James’ sophomore NFL season.

AFC Notes: Steelers, Fins, Ravens, Bills

June 8th, 2017 at 6:42pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Steelers would like to sign contract-year defensive end Stephon Tuitt to an extension before the start of the regular season, reports Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 24-year-old is clearly open to a new deal with the Steelers, telling Fittipaldo: “I would love it here. It’s a blessing if they see me being here for the long term. I love the organization.” Locking up Tuitt could cost the Steelers $8MM to $9MM per year, and it probably won’t become a priority until later in the summer, writes Fittipaldo. Tuitt, a second-round pick in 2014, started 14 games in each of the past two seasons and combined for 10.5 sacks in those 28 contests. He also impressed Pro Football Focus last season, receiving its 19th-best grade among 127 qualified interior defensive linemen.

Dolphins Pick Up Ja’Wuan James’ Option

May 1st, 2017 at 8:43am CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins will pick up Ja’Wuan James‘ fifth-year option, according to Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald. Now, the right tackle will be under team control through the 2018 season.

Over the weekend, Dolphins executive vice president and GM Chris Grier said that the team was still deliberating on what to do with James. Now, however, they’ll guarantee James’ 2018 salary for an estimated $9.341MM. The Dolphins project to start Laremy Tunsil and James at the tackle spots with Ted Larsen, Mike Pouncey, and Kraig Urbik in between in 2017. If all goes well, we’ll see Tunsil/James for the next two seasons in Miami, at minimum.

Last year, James graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 32 tackle in the NFL. While his pass blocking score left something to be desired, his run blocking score put him in the top 20 league-wide. Per PFF, 2016 was James’ best season to date.

As shown in PFR’s 2018 Fifth-Year Option Decision Tracker, teams have already decided on the majority of players in the 2014 first round. Clubs have until Wednesday to formally decide.

AFC Notes: Bolts, Raiders, Dolphins, Joeckel

October 8th, 2016 at 9:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a second straight Chargers season faces the prospects of being overrun by injuries, the team is planning to expand its offseason studies in this area. The organization appears set to devote more resources to researching injuries come 2017, given what’s happened over the past month.

“I can assure you this year is going to be more in-depth and thorough than ever before,” Chargers president John Spanos said, via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

This year’s Chargers have lost numerous key players, from the preseason injury to Stevie Johnson to the early-season carnage that’s taken out Keenan Allen, Danny Woodhead, Jahleel Addae, Manti Te’o and now Jason Verrett. Antonio Gates and Joey Bosa have also missed extensive time due to injuries. This comes after 2015’s spate of maladies that helped put the Bolts in the top five of a draft for the first time since 2004.

Gehlken points out the early portion of this decade did not bring the trouble the past two years have, with ACL and Achilles tears sparse before the ’15 season. Several within the organization said they’ve never seen anything like what’s happened to the Chargers on the health front the past two years, per Gehlken.

Here’s more from the AFC as most of its franchises prepare for their fifth games.

Al Davis‘ death staggered the Raiders and left them without a true GM for most of the 2011 season, but it ended up triggering the franchise’s steady climb back to respectability, Kevin Acee of the Union-Tribune writes. In addition to Reggie McKenzie drafting better than his predecessor, at least in the several years before his death, the Raiders hired a coach in Jack Del Rio who demanded facility upgrades, Acee writes.
The Dolphins aren’t sold on Ja’Wuan James‘ long-term potential at right tackle, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. A Dolphins source questioned the third-year player’s drive, noting the team hasn’t done enough to provide competition for him at that spot. Billy Turner replaced James against the Browns before James reacquired the job due to a Turner injury. “That was a wasted pick for a first-rounder,” former front-office executive Ken Herock told Jackson. “He should have been a third- or fourth-rounder. I questioned his strength, his recovery ability. Those are things I didn’t see.” Pro Football Focus rates James as the No. 44 tackle thus far in 2016 among the 75 who qualify as full-timers.
Jackson also notes Chiefs center Mitch Morse and Chargers inside linebacker Denzel Perryman drew support from members of the Dolphins front office during Day 2 of the 2015 draft, but Mike Tannenbaum opted to trade down and snag defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, who has not produced to this point, in the second round.
Luke Joeckel‘s surgery could make a return to the Jaguars more likely in 2017, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union writes. Although the former No. 2 overall pick has not panned out, a strong season at guard would have created a robust market for Joeckel instead of one that could well be tepid due to a small work sample at his second position. Joeckel proved ill-equipped at left tackle, prompting the Jags to bring in Kelvin Beachum, and played just 155 snaps at left guard before undergoing surgery to repair his ACL, MCL and mensicus. O’Halloran notes the team liked what they saw from Joeckel inside. He stands to be a UFA if not re-signed after the Jags declined his fifth-year option.
The Broncos are planning to give Paxton Lynch his first NFL start Sunday after deeming Trevor Siemian unfit to return.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Patriots, James, Jackson

October 30th, 2015 at 8:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jets–Patriots rivalry may have hit a new high (or perhaps, low) as Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports that NFL officials swept New York’s locker room and questioned three New England employees during Sunday’s game — all at the behest of the Jets. A source tells Howe that the Jets were concerned that Gillette Stadium’s operations and radio frequencies were not up to par (for the record, the Jets have denied making any such requests).

Nevertheless, per Howe, the three Pats employees were interrogated throughout the third quarter, forced to hand over their phones and radios, and required to submit to a photograph. According to Howe, the Patriots were informed that none of the checks revealed anything improper, and that the club had done nothing wrong.

Let’s take a look at more out the AFC East, including fallout from last night’s contest…

The Dolphins‘ offensive line took a hit on Thursday night when Ja’Wuan James left the game with a toe injury, and it appears the team will have to get by without its starting right tackle for a few games. Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post (Twitter link) hears from a source that James is expected to miss four to six weeks.
During Thursday night’s game, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) noted that the Patriots are coming “dangerously close” to running out of offensive lineman, and wondered if that could be a position they target before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
One Patriots offensive lineman who did go down in last night’s game — guard Tre’ Jackson — should be able to return at some point in the near future, as a source tells Howe in a separate piece that the MRI on Jackson’s left knee came back negative. He’s considered day-to-day, and though he does have 10 days to get healthy, Jackson’s history of knee issues is a concern, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com details.
The Patriots, always on the lookout for useful tight ends, brought in veteran free agents Steve Maneri and Bear Pascoe for workouts this week, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Per Reiss, the team is keeping its emergency lists fresh, so it doesn’t sound like either tight end will be signed by New England anytime soon.

Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.

AFC Notes: Flowers, Fitzpatrick, Ravens, ‘Fins

June 22nd, 2014 at 4:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Free agent cornerback Brandon Flowers, released by the Chiefs on June 13, is expected to sign with a new team by the middle of the week, reports Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link). We heard similar news a few days ago, so it appears that Flowers, whom La Canfora notes has “plenty of suitors,” has at least narrowed down his possible destinations. Our own Luke Adams mentioned the Lions as a landing spot for Flowers, given that Detroit has not downplayed its interest in the 2013 Pro Bowler. I would posit that the Chargers, who are in desperate need of secondary help, and the Ravens, who have a history of signing high-level players who have been cut, could also be options for the 28-year-old Flowers.