JACKSONVILLE – Free-agency's first aftershock came quickly.
For the Jaguars, that meant a significant – if-not entirely unexpected – change on one of the team's deepest position groups.
Red Bryant, the Jaguars' starting strong-side, five-technique defensive end, was released by the team Thursday, two days after the start of the NFL's 2015 free-agency period. Bryant played one season with the Jaguars and didn't miss a game.
The Jaguars had made two significant moves at Bryant's position in the last week, signing unrestricted free agent defensive end/tackle Jared Odrick to a multi-year, high-dollar deal on Wednesday and re-signing veteran end Tyson Alualu to a two-year deal over the weekend.
Alualu and Bryant essentially split time at the position last season, with Bryant starting 16 games and playing 536 plays and Alualu playing 471 plays.
Bryant (6-feet-4, 323 pounds) signed as a free agent with the Jaguars last offseason after his release from the Seattle Seahawks. A fourth-round selection by Seattle in the 2008 NFL Draft, he had started 63 of his last 64 NFL games, starting 47 of 48 for Seattle from 2011-2013 and all 16 for the Jaguars last season.
Odrick (6-5, 304) played defensive tackle with the Dolphins, and while he was signed primarily to play the strong-side end spot, he is versatile enough to play three spots along the Jaguars' front.
"He can play three of four of our positions along our D-line," Caldwell said. "He can play Red, he can play three technique, we can use him as a nose if we wanted to and he can also play six (technique). His flexibility and versatility for us was a key component."
Odrick started all 16 games for the Dolphins last season, and also brings a pass-rushing element to the position. He has 16.5 career sacks, including 4.5 in 2013, 5.0 in 2012 and 6.0 in 2011.
"If you look just at his production the first three years, he averaged about five sacks per year," Caldwell said. "That's what we kind of look at and then you throw the fact that we're a more penetrating defense and what he could potentially be in our defense, so I think there could be some mark to that."
