Joseph Anthony "Red" Bryant (born April 18, 1984) is an American former professional football defensive tackle.
He played college football at Texas A&M, and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL draft.
In his senior year, he earned District and Golden Triangle Defensive MVP honors.
[2] Also an standout track & field athlete, Bryant was one of the state's top performers in the throwing events.
He captured the state title in the shot put event at the 2003 UIL T&F Championships, recording a career-best throw of 62 ft 10 in (19.20 m).
He earned All-American and All-Big 12 honors from The Gridiron Report after making 34 tackles (3.5 of which led to a loss of nine yards), two deflected passes, and a blocked kick.
The Texas A&M defense, however, finished the 2004 season ranked 107th out of 119 Division I teams, after allowing 443.82 offensive yards per game.
He started in 8 games and played in nine before agreeing to end his season by having surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament that he tore.
When he was benched in the final five games of the season, the Aggie defense gave up 229.2 rushing yards.
However, at the end of the season, the defense improved to a national ranking of 46, after allowing 322.62 offensive yards per game.
At one of the practices prior to the game, he got into a fight with teammate Chris Williams, causing the coaches to break it up.
In late July 2008, Bryant injured cartilage in his left knee during one the Seahawks' training camp practices.
Just before the Seahawks last home game of the season against the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday, December 24 began, Bryant was presented with the club's Steve Largent Award.
His efforts helped the Seahawks into Super Bowl XLVIII where their #1 NFL-ranked defense defeated the Denver Broncos 43–8 for their first franchise championship.
On March 8, 2014, Bryant signed a four-year, $17 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, uniting him with his former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.
[33] In December 2007, Bryant graduated from Texas A&M, receiving a degree in agricultural leadership and development.