Despite the fact that Ja’Wuan James is no longer a member of the Miami Dolphins, he stands to be one of the most important pieces of the 2019 Miami Dolphins puzzle. How? Miami’s efforts to fortify the offensive line will be all for not if James isn’t somewhat replaceable. And as we are now 70 days away from the start of the 2019 Miami Dolphins season, we remember the man who most recently sported #70 for the Dolphins on the field — current Denver Broncos right tackle Ja’Wuan James.
The first man up in the effort to replace James will be former Buffalo Bills right tackle Jordan Mills — if Miami can get comparable (it doesn’t even have to be better) play out of Mills than they’ve received from James, history will likely favor the Dolphins in their decision to let James walk this offseason.
Ultimately, James was a quality starting right tackle — but he certainly wasn’t the best right tackle in all of football last year. That wasn’t even close. Yet the Broncos paid James to be exactly that when they inked him to a 4-year, $51M deal with $32M in guaranteed money. That’s an aggressive price tag for a good — but not great — tackle who has missed 17 games over the last four seasons.
And so James, even as a member of the Denver Broncos, will be a key variable for the 2019 and 2020 Miami Dolphins. Because if they find a viable replacement on the cheap, the funds it would have required to keep him in South Florida can go to other upgrades on the roster.
