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

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