JACKSONVILLE – The changes on the Jaguars' defensive line continue.
Sen'Derrick Marks, a fifth-year veteran defensive tackle and a second-round selection by the Tennessee Titans in the 2009 NFL Draft, on Tuesday signed with the Jaguars as an unrestricted free agent, the team announced Tuesday afternoon.
Marks signed a one-year deal.
"I want to be a part of this and I want to see it grow," Marks said Tuesday.
Marks said he heard positive things from other players about Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley and Defensive Line Coach Todd Wash before visiting Jacksonville, but meeting with Jaguars coaches helped him make his final decision.
"Talking with Coach Bradley was so much deeper than just the topic of football," Marks said. "I really wanted to play for a guy like that, and really wanted to get to know a guy like that more in depth."
Marks, 26, fits the profile for free agency the Jaguars have followed throughout the offseason. The team has focused on acquiring young veterans who are entering second contracts, and players who have a chance to grow into being team leaders while competing for starting jobs.
Bradley has stressed that 2013 will be a year of competition at every position, and Marks said trying to help younger players in that environment drew him to the Jaguars.
"That was a key selling point," Marks said. "It's appealing. I'm coming in here and understanding what they want me to do. They want me to come in and just be myself. To them, that's being a leader and being a guy who can control a lot of different things.
"I'm willing to take that role. I look at myself the same way. Being here from the start is way better than being here at the tail end."
Marks, the No. 62 overall selection in the 2009 draft from Auburn University, started 14 games for the Titans last season, and has started 26 of 51 games in four NFL seasons. He has three sacks and three forced fumbles in his NFL career.
The Jaguars earlier this offseason signed defensive tackle Roy Miller as a free agent from Tampa Bay, and Miller, Marks, 2010 first-round selection Tyson Alualu, second-year veteran Jeris Pendleton, Jerome Long and D'Anthony Smith are now the defensive tackles on the roster.
The team earlier this offseason also signed as free agents linebacker Geno Hayes, cornerback Alan Ball, running back Justin Forsett and cornerback Antwaun Molden.
The team on Monday had released eight-year veteran defensive tackle C.J. Mosley, and fifth-year defensive tackle Terrance Knighton had signed with Denver as a free agent.
Mosley started 12 of 16 games for the Jaguars last season.
"(General Manager) Dave (Caldwell) talked to me about it and it was one that we were in agreement with," Bradley said of releasing Mosley. "We just feel like we want to take a look at some things whether it's through the draft or free agency and have the ability to do that."
Marks said after playing in the AFC South for four seasons, the thought of playing another team within the division was a bit strange at first.
"It was kind of awkward and kind of different because it was in the division," Marks said Tuesday afternoon with a smile. "Jacksonville was a team I was trained basically to hate. I am so ready for this."
Also Tuesday:
*Fifty-six of the 57 current players attended the first day of the team's offseason program Tuesday. The lone exception was left tackle Eugene Monroe, who is attending the NFL's Business Management Program at Stanford University. "We invited like we always do and everyone showed up," Bradley said. "That's a great sign."
*Running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who underwent late-season foot surgery, was one of four players not cleared to participate medically to start the offseason program. The others were guard Uche Nwaneri, running backs Jordan Todman and Montell Owens, and tight end Matt Veldman.
*Bradley said he has met personally with four quarterbacks in the NFL Draft: Geno Smith of West Virginia, Matt Barkley of Southern California, E.J. Manuel of Florida State and Mike Glennon of North Carolina State.
