Safety Tashaun Gipson Brings Veteran Presence to Secondary

Former Jacksonville and Texans safety Tashaun Gipson is trying to bounce back from an offseason and some injuries

For weeks there has been a hole in the Bears' plan for competition at starting safety and every possible name available was considered to fill it. 

The most popular one seemed Ravens safety Tony Jefferson, who is coming back from an ACL tear.

It has been filled by former Houston Texans safety Tashaun Gipson on a one-year contract. The signing was first reported by Pro Football Talk Thursday and the team made it official on Friday.  

The 29-year-old, 6-foot-1, 212-pound veteran will be with his fourth NFL team. He made the Pro Bowl in 2014 with Cleveland, his frst team.

Gipson has been a starter the last seven seasons, including 2017 with Jacksonville when the Jaguars went to the AFC championship game with a dominant defense.

Gipson might need further medical examination because he tried playing through a hip fracture last year and also had a fractured wrist. He missed Houston's AFC playoff game with the Kansas City Chiefs due to injury.

The Bears would be interested in a safety with the ability to play near the line but also to get back in coverage, and not really a box safety who is always at the line of scrimmage. Gipson can do this, although he spent all but two of his years starting at the free safety spot and not at strong safety.

Gipson has 23 career interceptions and was looked at closely by Bears general manager Ryan Pace in 2016 during free agency. Gipson was leaving Cleveland, at that time and then signed with the Jaguars.

Gipson had 14 starts last year and finished with 51 tackles and three interceptions in his only Texans season.

The Texans cut Gipson earlier this week in a cost-cutting move after he had signed a three-year, $22 million contract prior to 2019.

Now Gipson goes into the mix with an inexperienced group of safeties and has to be considered the favorite to win the starting spot.

Bears safeties Deon Bush, Sherrick McManis and DeAndre Houston-Carson, former Packers safety Kintrell Brice and former Chiefs safety Jordan Lucas are his competition for a job starting alongside Eddie Jackson in the secondary.

Only Brice has double-digit starts in NFL games from among that group.

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