Injured Tackle Ja'Wuan James Returns to Practice for Ravens

OWINGS MILL, Md. — The Ravens designated offensive tackle Ja'Wuan James to return to practice and he was back on the field Wednesday.

If James does not have any setbacks with his Achilles, he could provide experienced depth over the final stretch of the season.

Right tackle Patrick Mekari suffered a hand injury in the 20-19 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13 and could miss a few weeks. Tyre Phillips replaced Mekari but struggled with the Steelers pass rush, especially against outside linebacker T.J. Watt.

The Ravens signed James to a two-year contract worth up to $9 million that includes $500,000 in guaranteed rehab money.

James filed a $15 million grievance against the Broncos after they released him last month. He tore his Achilles while working out at an off-site location. Since this happened away from the Broncos’ facility, the team has the ability through the collective bargaining agreement to withhold his 2021 base salary, which was a guaranteed $10 million.

James filed a grievance looking to recoup $10 million in salary for the 2021 season and $5 million in salary for the 2022 season.

James has dealt with injuries over the past two seasons and has played 63 snaps over three games — all in 2019 — signing a four-year, $51 million deal with the Broncos from Miami in March 2019. He suffered a torn meniscus and a torn MCL in separate games in 2019.

He's played a 16-game season twice over his six-year career — 2014 as a rookie and 2016.

James has been a solid, dependable tackle when he can stay healthy.

Add us as a preferred source on Google