Clayton: The timing of Ja’Wuan James’ injury couldn’t have been worse

Timing is everything. And the timing of Ja’Wuan James’ Achilles tendon tear couldn’t be worse.

It set the Broncos back on the offensive line and it could cost James more than $30 million. James is scheduled to make $10 million this year, $11 million in 2022 and $11 million in 2023.

In 2019, James signed a four-year, $51-million contract that included a $12 million signing bonus. He had a $5 million base salary in 2019, so he already has $14 million in the bank.

Last year because of COVID-19, James opted out and didn’t play. The Broncos had the faith in him that they didn’t cut his big salary like so many other teams that released $10 million-plus players because the salary cap shrunk to $182.5 million. They had enough faith him that they didn’t draft Northwestern tackle Rashawn Slater, who could be a natural fit at right tackle even though his 33-inch arm length is a little short of what most tackles are in the league.

Had James suffered the injury last week, the Broncos might have taken Slater instead of cornerback Patrick Surtain. Now, they have to scramble to sign Dennis Kelly, Charles Leno or another free agent.

What makes things worse for the Broncos is that Slater fell to the 13th pick and went to the Los Angeles Chargers. As it turned out, the Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs are considered to have the most-improved offensive lines in the NFL. Even thought the Las Vegas Raiders took Alabama tackle Alex Leatherwood too high with the 17th pick, they used a first-round choice on the offensive line.

The reason James could be released with a failed physical designation is the Achilles tear occurred when he was away from the Broncos facility. Remember Broncos players were the first to announce they were going to boycott OTAs.

This week, the NFLPA advised rookies not to show up for OTA. But the James injury has to cause players to think about their stance on OTAs. James isn’t going to play this season. He will have missed two seasons and he might not get the $32 million from his contract.

What a major setback for the Broncos and James.