The Jacksonville Jaguars today signed defensive end Marco Coleman, a 10-year veteran free agent who has played for the Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins.
Coleman, 32, started 12 games in 2001 for the Redskins, making 55 tackles, 4.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. He missed four games early in the season with an elbow injury. Coleman had his finest season in 2000, when he made a career-high 12 sacks, ranking ninth in the NFL, and was voted to his first Pro Bowl. In 10 NFL seasons, the 6-3, 270-pound Coleman has played in 155 games, starting 153 of them. He was drafted in the first round out of Georgia Tech (12th player overall) by the Dolphins in 1992 and was named NFL Rookie of the Year by Sports Illustrated. His career totals are 592 tackles, 56.5 sacks, 19 forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He is a native of Dayton, Ohio.
The Jaguars also signed tight end Chris Luzar, the second of the team's draft choices to sign a contract. Luzar, a 6-7, 270-pounder from Virginia, was the second of two selections in the fourth round of the April draft.
In addition, the team has placed offensive linemen Aaron Koch and Chris Ziemann on injured reserve. Both players suffered torn ACLs in offseason practices and will miss the entire season. Ziemann had undergone surgery on his left knee last Friday at Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute. Surgery was performed by head team physician Dr. Carlos Tandron and assisted by Dr. William Pujadas. Also, the Jaguars waived defensive end Aaron Hamilton, a first-year free agent out of Westmar (Iowa) who was signed on January 10.
The team's rookies will have their final day of workouts on Friday, and then all players will be off until reporting to training camp on July 25. The first practice is scheduled for July 26.
