Former Denver Broncos right tackle Ja’Wuan James is considering filing a grievance against the team through the NFL Players Association to recoup his 2021 pay, according to ESPN.
The Broncos released James on Friday with a non-football injury designation, which could allow the team to void his salary for 2021.
James, 28, sustained a season-ending torn Achilles injury while working away from team facilities in early May.
James was set to earn $10 million in base salary in 2021. But according to NFL Network, since he was injured while working out away from the team facility, he is at risk of losing a portion or potentially even all of his salary.
Shortly after the injury, the NFL cited James in a memo informing teams that injuries incurred in such conditions could be given the non-football iInjury (NFI) designation, getting teams off the hook from paying the player for missed time.
The NFLPA viewed that stance as a mechanism to force players to join teams’ involuntary workouts.
In an e-mail to players, the union wrote of the league’s stance on James: “It was gutless to use a player’s serious injury as a scare tactic to get you to come running back to these workouts.
“This memo is another sign of what they think of you and also affirms that they simply want to control you year-round in any and every way that they can.”
James opted out of the 2020 season.
He played in only three games since the Broncos signed him to a four-year, $51 million contract before the 2019 season. He dealt with a knee injury that season and played only 63 snaps for the Broncos.
James was the Miami Dolphins’ first-round draft pick out of Tennessee in 2014. Injuries cost him 18 games during his five seasons with the Dolphins before he became a free agent after the 2018 season.
In a similar situation, Denver wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton sustained a torn ACL while training away from the team facility, multiple media outlets reported on Friday.The Broncos reportedly were on the verge of trading him, but the trade has fallen through.

Bears QB Justin Fields: ‘Made for this’
Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields is willing to sit to begin his NFL career because he trusts the coaching staff.
But he’ll also be working every day to take the No. 1 job. Fields, speaking Friday before the team began rookie minicamp in Lake Forest, Ill., said he won’t rock the boat if Chicago plans to let him learn from the sideline as a rookie.
And if he’s thrust into the spotlight, where he stood Friday, Fields said it’s all good. “I kinda feel like I’m made for this. I’m built for this. It’s nothing new to me,” Fields said at Halas Hall.
“I think everybody on our team should be striving for a starting job and if you’re not, then there’s no reason for you to be here. So, of course, I’m going to do everything that I can to get that starting job. It’s not up to me, coach Nagy has a set plan on my development and stuff like that. I’m just gonna work hard and keep my head down and just keep grinding it out everyday.”
The Bears signed Andy Dalton in free agency and former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles remains on the roster. Former first-round pick Mitchell Trubisky was allowed to leave in free agency and signed with the Buffalo Bills.
But Chicago traded up with the New York Giants to select Fields 11th overall for a reason. The Ohio State product was the fourth quarterback chosen in the 2021 draft. Coach Matt Nagy, speaking to NFL Network on Wednesday, was again implying a commitment to Dalton.
“The obvious one here with the draft just happening is with (Fields) and us going up to get him. We know what we have sitting in front of us with him. We gotta make sure that he has a successful entry plan and we don’t know how that’s gonna look,” Nagy said.