49ers roster moves before Week 12. Tashaun Gipson is back:
A familiar face is back in the San Francisco 49ers secondary.
The 49ers on Saturday announced veteran safety Tashaun Gipson has been promoted from the practice squad to the active roster as a part of a handful of roster moves leading up to a Week 12 matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
Gipson has been elevated for the last two games, but now he’ll be permanently on the 53-man roster. He started 33 games across the 2022 and 2023 seasons for San Francisco. They signed him to their practice squad in early November after he was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Gipson will give the 49ers depth behind Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha.
In a corresponding move, the 49ers placed linebacker Tatum Bethune on IR. Bethune suffered an MCL injury in Week 11. It’s unclear if the rookie seventh-round pick will be able to return this season. He’ll be out a minimum of four weeks per the NFL’s IR rules.
The 49ers’ pair of standard elevations for Week 12 are linebacker Jalen Graham and cornerback Nick McCloud. Both should contribute on special teams. San Francisco is shorthanded there with Bethune and CB Darrell Luter Jr. both on IR.
Special teams has been an issue for San Francisco this season, but they’ll need those units to be at their best if they’re going to swing an upset over the Packers.
Renardo Green’s injury may have catalyzed a change on the 49ers’ practice squad.
The San Francisco 49ers on Monday announced a couple of roster moves that impacted their practice squad.
Cornerback Nick McCloud was signed to the 16-man practice squad, and veteran safety Adrian Amos was released in a corresponding move.
The addition of McCloud is likely related to an injury suffered by rookie cornerback Renardo Green during the 49ers’ Week 10 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Green injured his toe and didn’t return according to head coach Kyle Shanahan immediately after the game. Shanahan should have additional information about Green’s injury when he speaks with reporters Monday. McCloud provides some internal depth if Green misses time.
The Buffalo Bills signed McCloud as an undrafted rookie after the 2021 draft. He’s spent four seasons in the NFL and played in 40 games for the Bengals and Giants. McCloud has 10 pass breakups, one interception, three forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks in his career.
Amos became expendable for the 49ers when they added veteran safety Tashaun Gipson. Gipson was up over Amos for Sunday’s game in Tampa Bay because rookie Malik Mustapha was working through a calf injury. Mustapha wound up playing the entire game, and having two veteran safeties on the practice squad didn’t make a ton of sense.
There may be a familiar face back in the secondary for the 49ers on Sunday.
The San Francisco 49ers recently brought a familiar face back onto their practice squad. Now they may need to turn to that familiar face in their Week 10 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tashaun Gipson was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars and quickly scooped up by the 49ers to join their practice squad. He offered good internal depth San Francisco knew it could rely on after he spent the 2022 and 2023 campaigns as the 49ers’ starting free safety.
Rookie Malik Mustapha has stepped into a starting role nicely after veteran Talanoa Hufanga went down with a wrist injury. Now Mustapha is dealing with an injury of his own, opening the door for Gipson to get back on the roster for game day.
Mustapha suffered a calf injury that limited him in Thursday and Friday’s practices. He’s officially listed as ‘questionable.’ Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday told reporters Gipson is a potential replacement for Mustapha if the rookie can’t go Sunday.
“Yeah, he is in the mix,” Shanahan said. “Especially with Mustapha being questionable. He got a week in practice at Jacksonville, he’s done awesome this week in his three days. And we’ll discuss that with him over these next 24 hours. It’s nicer being on the east coast, we get until four o’clock instead of one. But those are all things that he looks good enough to do it. Just kind of depends on the health of everyone else.”
Gipson spent most of the preseason with the Jaguars after signing in mid-August. He didn’t appear in a game for them before getting released in early November.
He played in 33 games across two seasons with the 49ers, and registered six interceptions with 11 pass breakups.
The 49ers and Buccaneers are slated to kick off at 10:00am Pacific Time from Raymond James Stadium.
Tashaun Gipson on Jaguars reunion: ‘Things are turning around here’
Tashaun Gipson Sr. let out a long sigh Tuesday when a reporter asked about the jersey number he has sported practicing with Jacksonville this week.
“This right here, you all are not used to this. I’m not used to this, and don’t get used to this, alright?” Gipson conveyed while periodically looking down at his uniform. “47, I don’t know, man.”
Gipson’s preferred digit was unavailable when he signed with the Jaguars for the second time in his career on Sunday. Jacksonville’s rookie kicker, Cam Little, currently occupies the number.
“39 always has a special place in my heart,” Gipson said.
For good reason, especially in Duval.
The five-year, $36 million contract Gipson signed with the Jaguars in 2016 was the longest and most lucrative of his nine deals over 12 years with five NFL teams.
Jan 7, 2018; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars free safety Tashaun Gipson (39) makes a catch during warmups before the AFC Wild Card playoff football game against the Buffalo Bills at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
It was with Jacksonville when Gipson first reached the postseason, during the Jaguars’ miraculous run to the 2017-18 AFC Championship.
After beating the odds as an undrafted rookie with Cleveland in 2012 and intercepting 14 passes in four seasons with the Browns, Gipson stacked six interceptions and defended 16 in three years and 48 starts with the Jaguars, before his March 2019 release for salary cap purposes.
“Just the way that the league works, obviously it’s hard to kind of circle back to where you’ve come from,” Gipson expressed. “But this was always one of my most favorite places that I’ve played in.
“I have nothing but the most respect and love for the city. It was just a place that helped me turn into a man. Coming off of Cleveland, the city welcomed me. So it’s always fun to come back to a familiar place and I’m excited to be back.”
The Jaguars reunited with Gipson after five seasons apart this week. But on terms that are much different than last time.
Only three of Gipson’s former Jacksonville teammates remain with the squad, punter Logan Cooke and offensive linemen Cam Robinson and Tyler Shatley.
Gipson is now the most experienced player on the team, ahead of Shatley in that regard by two seasons. He has been in the NFL for at least twice as long as 86.8% of the players on Jacksonville’s 91-player preseason roster.
“The guys have welcomed me in … I’m old enough to be some of these guys’ dads, man,” said Gipson. “Some of these guys, I remember [rookie cornerback] Jarrian [Jones] was just like, ‘I used to watch you in seventh grade.’ And I was just like, ‘Man, don’t tell me that anymore.’ ”
The general manager who signed and cut Gipson, Dave Caldwell, is long gone, replaced by Trent Baalke. So is Tom Coughlin, Jacksonville’s top decision-maker as executive vice president of football operations from 2017-19.
The Jaguars are also three head coaches removed from Gipson’s first in Jacksonville, Gus Bradley, and two from Doug Marrone, who led the 2017 team.
Doug Pederson holds that position now, and while he wasn’t in town for Gipson’s first stint with the Jaguars, he cited the safety’s familiarity with the franchise as a benefit of his signing, paired with his extensive playing experience given the team’s need for quality depth at his position.
The Jaguars have eyed seasoned safety help following a training camp injury to Andrew Wingard, leading to Gipson and Adrian Amos‘ acquisitions.
However, Gipson faces a six-game suspension to begin the 2024 campaign for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy this offseason, after starting 75 games for three different teams in his five years removed from Jacksonville.
“[Gipson and Wingard are] very similar because they’ll probably miss about the same time,” Pederson explained Monday. “And I’m saying that to say, you know, obviously [under the premise of] Tashaun making the 53 and things of that nature at the end of camp.
“But for us too, it’s a veteran player that we’re familiar with who gives us more depth, you know, gives us an opportunity at safety that, you know, right now kind of fills a spot.”
Whether it is only for two weeks before the NFL’s Aug. 27 roster cut-down day or into the season, Gipson believes he can be hugely influential on Jacksonville’s young talent.
Beyond the nostalgia factor drawn from his time on one of Jacksonville’s best teams, Gipson has started seven playoff games since leaving the Jaguars, including six with the 49ers over the last two seasons, most recently in San Francisco’s Super Bowl LVIII loss to Kansas City in February.
“They’re all physically talented or else they wouldn’t be here, but a lot of the things are above the shoulders. Some things talent can’t do: age and wisdom, and I’m a little long in the tooth,” Gipson remarked.
“I try to spread wisdom as much as I can to these young guys and hopefully, it sticks to them. It could just be that extra play that might be a game changer that could get us to where we need to go.”
Nov 5, 2017; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Malik Jackson (97) and free safety Tashaun Gipson (39) celebrate after a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second half at EverBank Field. Jacksonville defeated Cincinnati 23-7. Mandatory Credit: Matt Stamey-USA TODAY Sports
He remembered how impactful it was for Jacksonville’s 2017 roster — “a collection of some of the best football players I played with,” Gipson proclaimed — to be loaded with players who had been there and done that.
The Jaguars added defensive lineman Calais Campbell and defensive backs A.J. Bouye and Barry Church that offseason, for example. The trio had combined for nine playoff starts before signing with Jacksonville. Lineman Malik Jackson had seven postseason starts of his own upon signing with the club the year before.
“I look back at the time when I was a young guy here and we had that push in 2017, they brought guys in like Calais Campbell. You think about [it], those guys were huge for this team,” Gipson recalled. “You bring in guys like Calais and guys like Malik who had that playoff experience. That was huge for us.
“We were young guys. I was the oldest guy in the room at 25 years old at the time. Looking back on that, [Gipson can offer] just the knowledge of the game. Everybody’s physically gifted, but the thing about it, mentally it’s just the understanding … just little tidbits that you can give these young guys.”
Gipson’s Jaguars fell one game short of their ultimate goal when they won the AFC South in 2017, losing the conference championship to the Patriots despite Jacksonville holding a 20-10 lead over New England early in the fourth quarter.
Things have changed around EverBank Stadium since that game and Jacksonville’s 5-11 collapse in the season to follow, greatly.
For one, Gipson had never seen Jacksonville’s Miller Electric Center in person, the Jaguars’ practice facility that opened last year.
And when Gipson last wore black and teal, the highest-paid players in Jaguars’ history in average annual value were Campbell, Jackson and Bouye. Including Gipson, all four signed with Jacksonville via free agency.
Now, three of Jacksonville’s four historical top-earners were drafted by the Jaguars and remain cornerstones of the club’s roster: Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, edge rusher Joshua Hines-Allen and cornerback Tyson Campbell.
Although 2023 ended in heartbreak with Jacksonville eliminated from playoff contention in Week 18, Lawrence, Hines-Allen and Campbell each played crucial parts in the team’s first consecutive winning seasons since 2004-05 over the last two years.
“You can see that things are turning around here,” Gipson said. “Obviously on the field and off the field.”
The Jaguars released Gipson, Jackson and others to make free-agent quarterback Nick Foles the franchise’s highest-paid player in 2019, a series of moves that backfired tremendously.
Holding no ill will, Gipson is happy to be back with the Jaguars. Considering their new-look core of homegrown starters and facility upgrades either completed or approved by Jacksonville’s City Council, he might have struggled at first to recognize them.
Jaguars release LB to officially sign Tashaun Gipson
The Jaguars made their reported signing of free agent safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. official on Sunday, releasing linebacker Ty Summers in a corresponding roster move.
Gipson returns to Jacksonville on a one-year deal for his 13th NFL campaign and fourth with the Jaguars. He faces a six-game suspension at the beginning of the regular season for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy but can practice and play in the preseason.
Gipson spent three seasons (2016-18) with Jacksonville on a five-year, $36 million contract, making 159 tackles including five for loss, six interceptions, 16 defended passes and one fumble recovery over 48 starts.
The Jaguars signed Summers following a workout in May, briefly reuniting the linebacker after his stint on Jacksonville’s practice squad two seasons ago.
Summers began his career as a 2019 seventh-round NFL draft pick with Green Bay, spending three years with the Packers before originally joining the Jaguars. New Orleans poached Summers from Jacksonville’s practice squad in December 2022 and awarded him an active roster spot last year.
Summers took the field for 12 defensive snaps in Jacksonville’s preseason opener against Kansas City Saturday night, recording two tackles.
In 67 appearances throughout his five-season career, Summers has compiled 60 tackles, one defended pass and one fumble recovery.
The Jaguars are signing free agent and former Jacksonville safety Tashaun Gipson to a one-year deal, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Gipson played for the Jaguars from 2016-18 and started at safety for Jacksonville during its 2017-18 run to the AFC Championship, where the club lost to New England, 24-20.
Gipson faces a six-game suspension to begin the 2024 season for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy but is eligible to practice and play in the preseason.
Under former general manager Dave Caldwell and head coach Gus Bradley, Gipson joined the Jaguars on a five-year, $36 million free-agent contract in March 2016.
Gipson recorded 159 tackles including five for loss, six interceptions, 16 defended passes and one fumble recovery in three seasons and 48 games with the Jaguars, all starts.
He picked off four passes during the 2017 regular season, second-most on the team, serving as a critical piece on the backend of the “Sacksonville” defense that facilitated the Jaguars’ playoff appearance.
But following Jacksonville’s disappointing, 5-11 finish in 2018, the Jaguars released Gipson and several other high-priced veteran players during the 2019 offseason, two seasons before the end of his deal.
Jacksonville pursued and signed free-agent quarterback Nick Foles with the salary cap space it freed up by releasing Gipson and other players, like defensive tackle Malik Jackson and right tackle Jermey Parnell.
Undrafted out of Wyoming in 2012, Gipson signed with Cleveland and spent four seasons with the Browns to begin his career, before joining Jacksonville. He has since played with Houston (2019), Chicago (2020-21) and San Francisco (2022-23).
In 12 seasons, 173 games and 165 starts, Gipson has compiled 684 tackles with 18 for loss, 2.5 sacks, 33 interceptions including three pick-sixes, 68 defended passes, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries.
Could the #49ers reunite with suspended safety Tashaun Gipson?
The 49ers may not be in the market for a starting safety. Adding depth could be key to filling out their roster though given some of the uncertainty at the position. Veteran Tashaun Gipson, who was recently suspended for six games by the NFL for violating the league’s performance enhancing drug policy, could be on the short list of players San Francisco looks to add.
While the club isn’t necessarily in the market in the run-up to training camp, Gipson may be an option depending on how things begin to shake out in camp. There are question marks about Talanoa Hufanga’s health, as well as the readiness of second-year safety Ji’Ayir Brown and rookie fourth-round pick Malik Mustapha.
Even with his suspension, Gipson would make sense as a depth piece if something in the secondary goes haywire. He recently released a statement through his agent about his 6-game ban. Here’s the statement via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area:
During this offseason, I took a supplement one time, which I thought to be completely safe and well within any of the NFL’s policies.
It was in no way related to performance, training, or gaining an advantage of any kind at any time. I have competed at this level for a long time, and have nothing but respect for the game and the fraternity of players in it.
The NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances is clear, and I take full responsibility for anything I put into my body. It is with great disappointment that I accept this suspension, and I do so knowing that I have never even attempted to cheat the game.
I look forward to returning for my 13th NFL season and helping a team compete for a championship.
The NFL’s suspension would allow Gipson to participate in camp, but he’d be unavailable for the first six games of the year which may put a damper on enthusiasm to add him.
Gipson started 33 or 34 games for the 49ers the last two seasons and posted six interceptions with 11 pass breakups. The soon-to-be 34-year-old may not be an ideal starter at this point, but it’s hard to envision a better candidate if San Francisco is in the market for a reliable depth piece during camp or the regular season.
Tashaun Gipson started for the 49ers the last two seasons and has over 160 NFL starts, but his mistake is a major one for Lions consideration
One of the more common suggestions this offseason for the Detroit Lions is a desire to bring in a free agent safety to help bolster the back end of the secondary. With Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch both missing the spring activities with injuries, Detroit’s lack of proven depth at safety really stands out on the defense.
There are still several veterans out there on the free agent market who hold some name appeal. However, Lions fans can almost certainly cross Tashaun Gipson’s name off the list. Gipson has been suspended for six games by the NFL for a violation of the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
Gipson, who turns 34 in August, started at safety for the San Francisco 49ers in the last two seasons, including the NFC Championship game against the Lions in January. He forced a Jahmyr Gibbs fumble in that game. Gipson has over 160 career NFL starts across five different teams.
Gipson acknowledged he will serve the suspension, which he claims stems from a supplement and not any intentional attempt to cheat the rules. Gipson released this statement,
Despite his desire, the suspension almost certainly rules Gipson out of any consideration from the Lions, who have taken a hard line on players who earn league punishment. Gipson is a talented vet, but missing six games for violating a well-known NFL rule doesn’t pass the Dan Campbell “no turd” test–not as a player the Lions don’t have anything invested in already.
It’s unclear why the suspension was handed down to Gipson, who spent the last two seasons as the 49ers’ starting free safety. He’s currently a free agent, and his suspension could wind up deterring teams from signing the soon-to-be 34-year-old.
Gipson started all 33 games he played for the 49ers the last two seasons. He racked up six interceptions, 11 pass breakups and 1.5 sacks. A reunion didn’t appear to be in the works given how crowded San Francisco’s safety room is. Now it is likely off the table entirely.
The Carolina Panthers probably won’t be hunting down some of the best safeties on the open market this offseason. Heck, they’re likely to depart with a pretty decent-sized name of their own.
Nonetheless, let’s wrap these rankings up and give you the top 12 safeties of free agency.
