Tennessee football: Former Vol Ja’Wuan James opts out of season

Former Tennessee football Volunteers offensive lineman Ja’Wuan James will sit out the NFL year due to COVID-19.

Continuing a trend that has gone across multiple sports amidst coronavirus, former Tennessee football player Ja’Wuan James made a surprise decision Monday. The Denver Broncos offensive lineman announced that he will opt out of the 2020 season over coronavirus concerns.

James was entering his second year in Denver and is in the process of trying to get fully healthy after an injury kept him out of all but three games during the 2019 season. He was entering his seventh year in the league overall.

Last year, James became one of Tennessee football’s highest paid players in the league, signing a four-year $51 million deal after spending the first five years of his career with the Miami Dolphins. He announced his decision to opt out of this season on Twitter.

Given the fact that James, who stands at 6’6″ 312 pounds, is recovering from an injury on his own, and given the fact that he has a newborn, he is making the right decision to be careful. However, the decision is still shocking. It puts a pause on James’ contract.

Ever since entering the league, James has been one of the standout Vols in the pros. He spent three years developing under Jim Chaney and Derek Dooley and, along with Zach Fulton, James Stone and Antonio “Tiny” Richardson, helped the line be one elite spot of Butch Jones’ first year on Rocky Top amidst the transition to the spread.

In 2014 and 2016, James started every game with the Dolphins at right tackle, and in 2018, he started 15 of 16 games. However, he only started seven in 2015 due to a toe injury and eight in 2017 due to a hamstring injury. A knee injury is what limited him in 2019.

It will be interesting to see which other players follow James’ trend. His absence certainly limits Tennessee football’s presence in the pros this year, and with Justin Coleman and Nigel Warrior on the COVID-19/reserves list, it’s clear the virus is having an impact on former UT players in the NFL.