Jaquiski Tartt will not be coming back to San Francisco this time. The Philadelphia Eagles on Friday announced they signed the 30-year-old safety to a one-year contract, officially closing the door on another reunion between the 49ers and their 2015 second-round pick.
Tartt was a free agent last season, but wound up signing a one-year deal with the 49ers late in free agency. He still earned the starting strong safety job and played well in his seventh NFL season.
Durability was always a concern for Tartt, who’s never played a 16-game season and hasn’t played more than 12 games since his second season as a pro. Still, when he’s on the field he’s an effective player with the size to play in the box, but the athleticism to cover down the field.
General manager John Lynch didn’t sound interested in bringing Tartt back when asked about the veteran safety during the offseason. The club was probably looking to get younger and healthier at the position, not to mention Tartt’s dropped interception that might’ve sealed the NFC championship game which likely didn’t help matters.
“We haven’t talked to him. We haven’t gone there yet,” Lynch said in April after the NFL draft. “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.”
Ultimately with Tarvarius Moore returning from an Achilles tear, second-year safety Talanoa Hufanga primed to make a jump into the starting strong safety mix and veteran George Odum signing in free agency, there wasn’t a ton of room on the roster for Tartt. Now he’ll have a chance to carve out a role on a Philadelphia club that might wind up being the best team in the NFC East.
In seven years with the 49ers, Tartt played in 80 games with 64 starts. He racked up 367 tackles, 4.0 sacks and four interceptions.