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The Jaguars invited 19 players to the weekend's rookie mini-camp, but two of the players earned the opportunity to stay in Jacksonville longer, as the team elected to sign defensive end J.D. Griggs and running back DeLeon Eskridge to the roster after they impressed the coaching staff during the three-day mini-camp, according to Mark Long of the Associated Press.
Griggs, 22, will look to fit in with the team as a LEO candidate at 6'5, 244 pounds. After transferring to Akron from Nassau (N.Y.) Community College, Griggs made 19 starts for the Zips and accumulated six sacks and 16 tackles for loss. The Jaguars elected not to draft a single defensive lineman in the 2013 NFL Draft, despite finishing the 2012 season with the fewest sacks in the NFL. Only Paul Hazel of Western Michigan was added in undrafted free agency to add competition at LEO.
Eskridge, 23, played three seasons at Minnesota before tranferring to join the San Jose State Spartans for his senior season. At SJSU, Eskridge accumulated 1,060 yards rushing on just 207 carries with 11 touchdowns. His path to the final roster will be tough, though, as the Jaguars already have Maurice Jones-Drew, Justin Forsett and fifth-round draft pick, Denard Robinson, all on roster at the running back position, and cutting any of the three would be surprising.
To make room on the roster, the Jaguars released linebacker Greg Jones and running back Richard Murphy.
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