Should the Miami Dolphins have kept Ja’Wuan James?

The Miami Dolphins allowed right tackle Ja’Wuan James to leave in free agency for what was record contract for a right tackle. Should they have?

When you look at the Miami Dolphins positions right tackle stands out as a big need on the roster. Yet the Dolphins let Ja’Wuan James hit free agency. Should they have created the hole that is there today or was this the right decision for the Dolphins as they rebuild.

There are plenty of fans out there who see the departure of James as a big mistake. He was a good right tackle and Miami had the cap space to match the offer by Denver or at the very least offer him a contract earlier that would have swayed him to stay in South Florida.

Chris Grier, as the free agency period approached, said he would like to keep James if the price were right. This leads us to wonder what that price was. Even the allure of no state income tax wasn’t enough to keep James in Miami and no one really speculated that the two sides were talking or how apart they were.

It wasn’t a surprise to see James leave once the market opened but the fact Miami didn’t make an attempt was a bit of a surprise. Now here we are a couple of months later wondering if the Dolphins will spend a first round pick on his replacement.

If they do, the argument by some is that we wasted a first round pick when it could have been used on someone else and right tackle would have been set with James. There are others however who see the move to make a lot of sense.

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While James was good, he was also inconsistent and injuries were starting to become an issue. A minor issue but one nonetheless. His salary became the best in the NFL at his position and while the Dolphins have room under the cap, they still need to extend Xavien Howard and Laremy Tunsil. At some point paying a lot for a right tackle would have hit the cap hard.

The Dolphins may draft his replacement in round one or they may wait until round two but depending on the side of the fence you stand with the James issue, you may or may not like the prospect of a first round offensive lineman.