The Jacksonville Jaguars signed fifth-year wide receiver Mike Sims-Walkerand third-year tight endMartin Rucker to contracts today. Rucker had been on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. Second-year defensive tackle Corvey Irvin was added to the practice squad.
Sims-Walker was a third-round draft pick of the Jaguars in 2007 and played in 38 games with 28 starts over four seasons (2007-10). He signed with the St. Louis Rams as an unrestricted free agent on July 29 and played in four games with 11 receptions for 139 yards. He led the Rams with six receptions for 92 yards in week two at the New York Giants with catches of 23 and 33 yards.
The Orlando native has 133 career receptions for 1,787 yards with 14 touchdowns. His 14 touchdowns, all for the Jaguars, rank seventh in Jaguars history. In 2009 he led the team with a career-high 63 receptions for 869 yards and seven touchdowns. He became only the third wide receiver in franchise history with 800-plus receiving yards in a season. He finished with 43 receptions for 562 yards and seven touchdowns in 2010 and became the first Jaguar to have six or more receiving touchdowns in back-to-back seasons since Jimmy Smith (2003-04). He will wear jersey number 15.
Rucker, 6-5, 255, has spent time with Cleveland, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay and Dallas. He has played in 11 games with two starts and has two career receptions for 17 yards. A fourth-round draft pick of the Browns in 2008, he played in five games with one start as a rookie. He spent the majority of the 2009 season on the Eagles practice squad. In 2010, he began the season on the Cowboys practice squad and was signed to the active roster for the final five games.
A native of St. Joseph, Missouri, Rucker started a school-record 50 games at Missouri where he finished with 203 receptions for 2,175 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was a three-time Big 12 Conference selection and set a school record for career receptions. His father, Martin, is a member of the House of Representatives in the state of Missouri and his brother, Mike, played nine seasons in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers. He will wear jersey number 85.
Irvin, 6-3, 302, was a third-round draft pick of the Panthers in 2009 and spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve after suffering a torn MCL in his right knee in the preseason finale. He spent the first 13 weeks on the Panthers practice squad in 2010 before he was signed to the active roster. He was signed by Detroit to the practice squad on Sept. 5 and was waived on Oct. 12.
A native of Augusta, Georgia, Irvin played two seasons at Georgia after transferring from Georgia Military College. He played in 26 games with 10 starts for the Bulldogs and totaled 11 tackles for loss and three sacks.
