After seven years and 86 games, Jaquiski Tartt’s tenure with the San Francisco 49ers is over.
On Friday, the Philadelphia Eagles announced they’d signed Tartt to a one-year deal.
Tartt will have some familiarity there, at least with former 49ers public relations chief Bob Lange, who now runs things over with the Eagles. He’ll also have a recent safety partner in Jared Mayden, who was around the 49ers’ roster the last couple of years and former Samford teammate, corner James Bradberry.
It always seemed to be heading in this direction for Tartt, who was plagued by injuries, but was always a a major component of San Francisco’s defense, alongside his high school teammate, Jimmie Ward.
On April 30, John Lynch indicated Tartt likely wouldn’t return.
“We haven’t talked to him. We haven’t gone there yet,” Lynch said. “We will see. He’s a free agent. We think highly of Jaquiski, he’s played a lot of good football for us and we’re grateful for that. Talented, talented dude. And he’ll play in this league and continue to play at a high level.”
Kyle Shanahan said the 49ers would “never rule out anybody like that,” but it was evident the 49ers were looking in another direction.
He will leave on something of a sour note, with the infamous dropped interception in the NFC Championship game. Despite that play — which he took ownership of, and was extremely critical of himself for after the game — he was excellent defensively and fundamentally altered the 49ers’ secondary.
The reliability of him and Ward, when on the field together, allowed San Francisco to play some more conservative coverages and protect their corners, especially in the first half of the season. He also had a knack for tackling in and around the box, most notably in the run game.
It will be interesting to see what numbers come in on the deal. Tartt has always felt like an under-appreciated member of the secondary, and in letting him go, San Francisco is rolling the dice on a questionable group of Talanoa Hufanga, George Odum, Tarvarius Moore and some flier free agents unlikely to make the roster.
Given the value safety has provided this team in cutting down explosive plays, it’s something of a gambit to let Tartt go, assuming he signed at a reasonable figure.