The Los Angeles Chargers and Derwin James are currently in the process of ongoing contract negotiations that have resulted in the pro bowl safety holding out of training camp. All indications still point to James taking the field for the upcoming season with or without a new contract. However, the Chargers need to figure it out with James before he hits the open market next season.
One of the biggest concerns with James’s career thus far has been his durability. James missed the entire 2020 season and most of the 2019 season with injuries. James missed just two games in 2021 however and when healthy is one of the best safeties in the NFL. The Chargers have been desperately looking to improve a pass defense that looked quite porous throughout 2021. Even if handing James a lucrative contract presents a financial risk, the Chargers must do it.
Quite simply, teams that take big risks often see them pay off. The Los Angeles Rams have traded most of their draft picks over the past decade and saw it pay off with a super bowl win. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers brought in a 42 year old Tom Brady on a high paying contract and instantly won a super bowl. While risks don’t always pay off, super bowl winners have frequently gone all win to get it done. For the sake of the franchises’s long term excellence, Derwin James must be kept at all cost.