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Ja'Wuan James

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Ja'Wuan James
refer to caption
James with the Miami Dolphins in 2014
Personal information
Born: (1992-06-03) June 3, 1992 (age 32)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:323 lb (147 kg)
Career information
High school:North Gwinnett
(Suwanee, Georgia)
College:Tennessee (2010–2013)
Position:Offensive tackle
NFL draft:2014 / round: 1 / pick: 19
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:66
Games started:66
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Ja'Wuan Amir James (born June 3, 1992) is an American professional football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers. He has also played for the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens.

Early life

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James attended North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Georgia, where he was teammates with Austin Shepherd.[1] In his sophomore season, North Gwinnett advanced to the GHSA Class 5A state championship game with 13–2 record, where they lost 34–6 to Valdosta Lowndes led by Greg Reid and Telvin Smith.[2] As a junior, James helped North Gwinnett to a berth in state quarterfinals behind 10–3 finish, where they lost 20–3 to Alec Ogletree's Newnan.[3] In James's senior season, North Gwinnett finished with a 13–1 mark, earning Region 7-5A championship while advancing to the state quarterfinals, where they lost 35–0 to Camden County.[4] After the season, James was selected Class 5A All-State by Georgia Sportswriters, and was invited to play in the 2010 Under Armour All-America Game in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated the eighth best offensive tackle prospect in his class and the sixth best prospect from Georgia.[5] He was such a highly sought after prospect that Tennessee's head coach Lane Kiffin wanted to land a helicopter on North Gwinnett's softball field in an attempt to impress James, but was unable to receive clearance from the high school.[6]

College career

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James attended the University of Tennessee from 2010 to 2013.[7] He started 49 consecutive games for the Volunteers, all at right tackle. His 49 starts set a record for career starts by an offensive lineman in Tennessee history (passing Jeff Smith's 48 starts from 1992 to 1995).[8] He played on an elite offensive line that produced four NFL offensive linemen with three of them going on to become starters.

Professional career

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Pre-draft

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On December 9, 2013, it was announced that James and teammate Daniel McCullers had accepted their invitations to the 2014 Senior Bowl.[9] On January 24, 2014, it was reported that James would unfortunately miss the Reese's Senior Bowl after suffering a sprained knee during practice. His performances at practice were well-received and helped his draft stock.[10] James was one of 50 collegiate linemen to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tennessee had a record four offensive linemen attend the combine, that include James, James Stone, Antonio Richardson, and Zach Fulton. He performed all of the combine drills well and finished sixth among all offensive linemen in the three-cone drill and ninth in the short shuttle.[11] On April 2, 2014, he attended Tennessee's pro day, along with Fulton, Richardson, Stone, McCullers, Jacques Smith, Rajion Neal, Michael Palardy, and seven other prospects. He opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills for scouts and representatives from all 32 NFL teams, that included Seattle Seahawks' offensive line coach Tom Cable. During the draft process, James had private workouts and meetings with a few teams, including the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins.[12] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, James projected to be a first to third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the sixth best offensive tackle prospect by NFLDraftScout.com, the ninth best offensive tackle in the draft by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, and 15th best offensive linemen by Sports Illustrated.[13][14][15]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 6 in
(1.98 m) 		311 lb
(141 kg) 		35 in
(0.89 m) 		9+7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		 5.34 s 1.86 s 3.08 s 4.56 s 7.42 s 29 in
(0.74 m)		 8 ft 7 in
(2.62 m)		 22 reps
All values from NFL Combine[16]

Miami Dolphins

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2014

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The Miami Dolphins selected James in the first round (19th overall) of the 2014 NFL draft.[17] He was the fourth offensive linemen selected in 2014.[18] James was the highest selected Tennessee Volunteers offensive lineman since Charles McRae and Antone Davis in 1991.[19] On June 19, 2014, the Dolphins signed James to a fully guaranteed four-year, $8.42 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $4.44 million.[20] James entered training camp slated as the starting right tackle with newly acquired free agent Branden Albert starting on the blindside. Head coach Joe Philbin named James the official starting right tackle to begin the regular season.[21]

He made his first career start and professional regular season debut in the Dolphins' season-opening 33–20 victory over the New England Patriots.[22] In the first four games, James yielded only one sack and ranked as the tenth best run blocker and 20th best offensive tackles overall among the 67 offensive tackles that qualified. He was considered an improvement over former starting right tackles Tyson Clabo and Jonathan Martin.[23] In Week 10, he was moved to left tackle after starter Albert was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season after suffering a knee injury.[24] He started 16 games for the Dolphins in 2014.[25] He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.[26]

2015

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James returned to the starting right tackle position to start training camp and remained the starter to begin the regular season.[27] He started the first seven games of the 2015 season before suffering a toe injury and being placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season.[28] James finished with seven starts on the 2015 season.[29]

2016

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James remained the starting right tackle, opposite Albert, to begin the 2016 season under new head coach Adam Gase. The Dolphins drafted the top ranked offensive tackle prospect Laremy Tunsil with the 13th overall pick, but opted to use him as an offensive guard for his first season.

He started 16 consecutive games at right tackle and helped the Dolphins achieve a 10–6 record and place second in the AFC East.[30][31] On January 8, 2017, James started in his first career playoff game as the Dolphins were defeated 30-12 by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Round.[32]

2017

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On May 1, 2017, the Miami Dolphins exercised the fifth-year, $9.34 million option on James' rookie contract for the 2018 season.[33] He started the first eight games of the season at right tackle before suffering a hamstring injury in Week 9 against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday Night Football. He was placed on injured reserve on November 11, 2017.[34][35]

2018

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James started 15 games at right tackle in 2018, missing one game with a knee injury.[36]

Denver Broncos

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On March 13, 2019, James signed a four-year, $51 million deal with the Denver Broncos.[37][38] He only played in three games in 2019 due to a knee injury suffered in Week 1.

On August 3, 2020, James announced he would opt out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[39]

On May 4, 2021, James tore his Achilles tendon while training away from the team facility.[40] He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list on May 7, 2021.[41] and released from the list on May 14, 2021.[42]

Baltimore Ravens

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On June 10, 2021, James signed a two-year, $9 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens.[43][44] He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list on August 31, 2021, to start the season.[45] On December 8, 2021, James was designated to return to practice from reserve/non-football injury list.[46]

On September 14, 2022, the Ravens placed James on injured reserve after he tore his Achilles tendon again in the 2022 season opener against the New York Jets.[47][48][49]

NFL career statistics

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Year Team Games Starts
2014 MIA 16 16
2015 MIA 7 7
2016 MIA 16 16
2017 MIA 8 8
2018 MIA 15 15
2019 DEN 3 3
Career 65 65

Personal life

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James grew up in New Jersey and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in eighth grade. He was raised by his mother, Nichelle James-Mickens, and his father, Burkley James. Throughout his childhood he mainly played basketball and briefly played baseball before becoming bored with it. He decided to play football after moving to Georgia.[6]

On July 12, 2017, James announced via Twitter that he became engaged to his longtime college girlfriend Rainey Gaffin. She was a member of the Tennessee Volunteers softball team from 2013 to 2016.[50]

References

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  1. ^ Kalil, Fred (May 8, 2014). "Ja'Wuan James awaits fate in NFL draft". 11Alive.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  2. ^ Walsh, Chris (December 16, 2007). "Lowndes claims state title, 34–6". Valdosta Daily Times. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  3. ^ "Newnan Defense Keys Win Over North Gwinnett In Rematch". Times-Herald. December 6, 2008. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010.
  4. ^ Beitzel, Ben (November 27, 2009). "Camden County 35, North Gwinnett 0". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  5. ^ "Jawuan James, 2010 Offensive Tackle, Tennessee". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Abramson, Andrew (May 22, 2014). "Miami Dolphins hope they've won the lottery by drafting Ja'Wuan James". Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on January 13, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  7. ^ "Ja'Wuan James - Football". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  8. ^ Wine, Steven (May 8, 2014). "Tennessee Vols' Ja'Wuan James drafted by Miami Dolphins". The Tennessean. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  9. ^ "James, McCullers invited to Senior Bowl". Tennessee Volunteers Athletics. December 9, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  10. ^ Ragan, Zach (January 21, 2014). "Ja'Wuan James To Miss Remainder Of Senior Bowl". AllForTennessee.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  11. ^ "2014 NFL Combine Results: Offensive linemen". Scout.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  12. ^ "Vols hold NFL Pro Day". Tennessee Volunteers Athletics. April 2, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  13. ^ "Ja'Wuan James, DS #6 OT, Tennessee". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  14. ^ Mayock, Mike (June 6, 2014). "2014 NFL Draft: Mike Mayock's top 100 prospects". NFL.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  15. ^ "Top 100 Prospects for the 2014 NFL Draft". SI.com. May 1, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  16. ^ "NFL Draft Profile: Ja'Wuan James". NFL.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  17. ^ "2014 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  18. ^ "Dolphins select offensive tackle Ja'Wuan James with No. 19 pick". NBC Sports. May 8, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  19. ^ Brown, Patrick (May 9, 2014). "Vols tackle James 19th pick of draft". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  20. ^ Katzowitz, Josh (June 19, 2014). "Dolphins agree to four-year rookie deal with T Ja'Wuan James". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  21. ^ Poupart, Alain (September 2, 2014). "Dolphins Release Initial 2014 Regular Season Depth Chart". MiamiDolphins.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  22. ^ Walker, James (September 9, 2014). "Ja'Wuan James grades well in first start". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  23. ^ Jackson, Barry (October 1, 2014). "Miami Dolphins rookies – led by Ja'Wuan James and Jarvis Landry – already making impact". MiamiHerald.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  24. ^ Mello, Igor (June 4, 2014). "Dolphins LT Branden Albert carted off with knee injury". CBSsports.com. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  25. ^ "Ja'Wuan James 2014 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  26. ^ "2014 NFL All-Rookie Team". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  27. ^ Nogle, Kevin (September 5, 2015). "Dolphins depth chart 2015: Projecting the Miami depth chart after final roster cuts". The Phinsider. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  28. ^ Abramson, Andrew (October 30, 2015). "Dolphins' Ja'Wuan James injures toe against Patriots". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  29. ^ "Ja'Wuan James 2015 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  30. ^ "Ja'Wuan James 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  31. ^ "2016 Miami Dolphins Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  32. ^ "Wild Card - Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers - January 8th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  33. ^ Walker, James (May 1, 2017). "Dolphins picking up OL Ja'Wuan James' fifth-year option". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  34. ^ "Miami Dolphins Make Roster Moves". MiamiDolphins.com. November 11, 2017. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017.
  35. ^ "Ja'Wuan James 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  36. ^ "Ja'Wuan James 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  37. ^ Gordon, Grant (March 11, 2019). "RT Ja'Wuan James to sign big $51M deal with Broncos". NFL.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  38. ^ DiLalla, Aric (March 13, 2019). "Broncos agree to terms with T Ja'Wuan James". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  39. ^ DiLalla, Aric (August 3, 2020). "RT Ja'Wuan James informs Broncos he is opting out of 2020 season". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  40. ^ "Broncos' Ja'Wuan James to miss 2021 season with torn Achilles". NBC Sports. May 4, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  41. ^ Stapleton, Arnie (May 7, 2021). "Broncos place Ja'Wuan James on non-football injury list". APNews.com. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  42. ^ O'Halloran, Ryan (May 14, 2021). "Broncos briefs: Denver releases injured right tackle Ja'Wuan James". DenverPost.com. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  43. ^ Legwold, Jeff; Hensley, Jamison; Graziano, Dan (June 7, 2021). "James to join Ravens, files grievance vs. Broncos". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  44. ^ Mink, Ryan (June 10, 2021). "Ravens Officially Sign Offensive Tackle Ja'Wuan James". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  45. ^ Stapleton, Arnie (August 31, 2021). "Ravens place Ja'Wuan James on non-football injury list". APNews.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  46. ^ Brown, Clifton (December 8, 2021). "Right Tackle Ja'Wuan James Returns to Practice". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  47. ^ Brown, Clifton (September 11, 2022). "Ja'Wuan James Carted Off With Ankle Injury". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  48. ^ Hensley, Jamison (September 11, 2022). "Baltimore Ravens LT Ja'Wuan James tears Achilles for second straight season". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  49. ^ Sobus, Robert (September 14, 2022). "Ravens officially make four roster moves on Wednesday". USAToday.com. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  50. ^ Ragan, Zach (July 13, 2017). "Tennessee Vols: VFL Gets Engaged To College Sweetheart". Tenn Truth. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
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