The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed safety Donovin Darius to the franchise one-year tender contract. Darius had previously been tagged as the club's franchise player on Feb. 24.

Darius, 28, ranked third on the team in 2003 with 118 tackles (65 solo) while starting all 16 games for third time in his career. The former 1998 first-round draft choice has led the Jaguars' secondary in tackles each of his first six NFL seasons. Darius is the second-leading all-time tackler in Jaguars history behind Kevin Hardy, and has started in all 87 NFL games he has played. He was named first alternate to the Pro Bowl in 2002.

This is the second consecutive season Darius has been tagged as the team's franchise player and he is the second franchise player tagged by the Jaguars since Tony Brackens in 2000.