Eagles Today

Eagles Make a Move at Safety, Sign Veteran Jaquiski Tartt

The ex-49ers safety has plenty of starting experience and is a former college teammate of James Bradberry

John McMullen

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It was the one obvious need remaining for Howie Roseman to fill and while it wasn't the splash of Cincinnati's Jesse Bates or even Baltimore Chuck Clark, the Eagles' GM was able to procure a veteran safety with significant starting experience by inking Jaquiski Tartt to a one-year contract.

Tartt arrived in San Francisco as a second-round pick in 2015 and has been a staple on the back end of what have been some pretty good defenses over the years. 

In 2021, Tartt, 30, started 14 games for the 49ers and he has been a first-teamer for  64 of his 80 NFL games.

At 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, the Samford product is regarded as a box safety which should be a nice fit in Philadelphia because the penciled-in starters - Anthony Harris and Marcus Epps - are both better-suited in coverage.

Over his first seven NFL seasons, Tartt has produced 367 tackles, 18 passes defended, four sacks, and four interceptions. He also has played in six playoff games including Super Bowl LIV.

Tartt struggled a bit last season, grading out as No. 72 of the 92 safeties who played enough to be ranked by Pro Football Focus. His strength was run support where he was above average at No. 39 of 88, compiling 66 tackles, including five for loss.

The Mobile native's best season on film was 2017 when he was graded as the 16th best safety in the NFL by PFF.

A college teammate of new Eagles cornerback James Bradberry, Tartt will join a safety room that includes K'Von Wallace, Andre Chachere, Jared Mayden, and undrafted rookie free agent Reed Blankenship, along with Harris and Epps.

If Gannon wants a more complementary pairing there should be a good opportunity to start for Tartt as the strong safety.

Wallace is also more of a box safety but has struggled to gain a toehold early in his NFL career while Chachere is more of a core special-teams player. Mayden flashed at  the team's recent OTAs while Blankenship's goal is probably the practice squad as an UDFA.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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John McMullen
JOHN MCMULLEN

John McMullen is a veteran reporter who has covered the NFL for over two decades. The current NFL insider for JAKIB Media, John is the former NFL Editor for The Sports Network where his syndicated column was featured in over 200 outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He was also the national NFL columnist for Today's Pigskin as well as FanRag Sports. McMullen has covered the Eagles on a daily basis since 2016, first for ESPN South Jersey and now for Eagles Today on SI.com's FanNation. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey and part of 6ABC.com's live postgame show after every Eagles game. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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