The Jacksonville Jaguars placed second-year offensive tackle Eben Britton on injured reserve today and signed fifth-year offensive tackle Erik Pears. Britton suffered a shoulder injury in the first half last Sunday at Kansas City.
Pears, 6-8, 305, has played in 44 games with 30 starts (18 at right tackle, 10 at left tackle, 2 at left guard) since entering the NFL as an undrafted rookie with Denver in 2005. He spent four seasons with the Broncos and appeared in 32 games with 26 starts. He signed as a free agent with Oakland in 2009 and played in 12 games with four starts (2 at LG, 2 at RT) for the Raiders. He spent the 2010 preseason with the Raiders before being waived on final cuts and spent the first three weeks of the regular season on and off the Raiders roster.
A native of Denver, Co., Pears was a three-year starter and two-time first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection at Colorado State. He was born in Price, Utah and attended Kennedy High School in Denver where he lettered in football, wrestling and track. He and his wife, Ashlee, have one son.
The Jaguars have 13 players on injured reserve including five rookies and two members of the 2009 draft class in Britton and wide receiver Jarett Dillard.
