One of the thinnest position groups on Alabama’s roster could soon be taking another hit as tight end Kedrick James has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

This news comes after James was suspended for Alabama’s two Playoff contests against Oklahoma and Clemson. James appeared in five games last season and 10 total games for the Crimson Tide in his career, coming off the bench for each of those contests.

The first to report the news of James’ decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal was Matt Zenitz of AL.com.

Losing James could hurt the Tide more than some realize as Nick Saban has mentioned this offseason that his program would be open to potentially adding tight end depth to the roster via transfer. Alabama has not added a graduate transfer tight end following those comments.

It should be noted that entering the NCAA transfer portal does not guarantee that James will leave the Alabama program, he still has the option of returning to the team for the upcoming season. However, entering the transfer portal is the first step toward leaving the program and allows other programs to contact him regarding a transfer.

James was in play to potentially start at tight end for Alabama this season. The Waco, Texas native was a four-star member of Alabama’s 2017 signing class.