James has provided mostly league-average play at the pivot over the past four seasons, though 2024 was by far his worst year as he struggled through an ankle injury. We don’t have terms of the contract, but it’s plausible that James is a real challenger to playing time for Zion Johnson or Bradley Bozeman. Entering his age-28 season, James has never finished with a PFF pass block grade below 64.5 in four seasons as a starter.

James signed a three-year, $24 million contract last offseason but missed time with an ankle injury in 2024 and wasn’t particularly effective when healthy. The move will save Vegas $1.5 million in cap space. With James off the roster, second-year lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson will likely take his place in the lineup. JPJ took over at left guard early in his rookie season, filled in for a hurt James, and eventually moved back to left guard.

The Raiders will need to shuffle their line around a bit to backfill James’s role. Rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson has been starting at left guard but will presumably move to center. Cody Whitehair will then take over at left guard.

The Raiders’ offensive line is one of the team’s core strengths so losing the starting center could be a big deal. The team has also been without G Dylan Parham (foot), who returned to practice in a limited capacity on Wednesday. The offensive line could be compromised if both players are absent on Sunday.