Clayton: Could the Broncos trade Ja’Wuan James?

Free agency was extremely quiet on Wednesday for the Broncos.

Management celebrated the signings of Ronald Darby and Shelby Harris. Those were two of the team’s priorities and they have been taken care of in the early stages of the offseason.

The big news was actually no news. Ja’Waun James remains on the roster.

It would be a luxury for the Broncos to be able to keep James after he opted out last season because of COVID-19. He makes $12.75 million a year.

His name was being shopped in trade discussions according to Dolphins beat writer Omar Kelly. He knows James because the right tackle came to Denver from Miami.

We’ve watched this so much in the past couple of weeks. Once a player is being shopped with a high salary, the team is trying to get a low draft choice in a trade. If they can’t get the choice, they cut him.

We’ve seen it with Kevin Zeitler of the New York Giants. We’ve seen it with Trai Turner of the Los Angeles Chargers. The Las Vegas Raiders shopped Gabe Jackson and Rodney Hudson with the idea of cutting one of them.

The Arizona Cardinals gave up a third-round choice for Hudson and a seventh-round choice of the Raiders. The Seattle Seahawks gave up a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft for Jackson.

That’s the way things are operating in the NFL these days with the decreased salary cap and tight finances.

I still applaud the decision to keep Von Miller. Sure, the $18 million cap number is hard to see, but that could be adjusted or dealt with in the summer. If he’s cut, he’ll get $7 million.

Miller has earned that respect for the way he’s played for the Broncos since 2011. As for James, it will be a waiting game. The Broncos have the cap room to keep him or to wait patiently for the best deal to come their way.