49ers roster: 6 players who could be gone after 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: 49ers Safety Jaquiski Tartt
Like K’Waun Williams, strong safety Jaquiski Tartt was one of those players who didn’t appear poised for a return after finishing his 2020 campaign on injured reserve.
Yet San Francisco, likely not convinced its safety depth was good enough, elected to retain the 29-year-old Tartt on one of those cheap one-year deals.
When on the field, Tartt is one of the 49ers’ better defenders. But the problem is Tartt has dealt with a slew of injuries in recent years, missing a total of 30 regular-season games out of a possible 64 the last four years.
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Perhaps that trend changes. But the Niners inking veteran safety Tony Jefferson and Tavon Wilson in free agency this offseason seems to indicate they’re not fully convinced Tartt can stay healthy for all of 2021.
Likewise, San Francisco used a fifth-round NFL Draft pick on USC safety Talanoa Hufanga, and there’s going to be a hope he emerges as a ballhawking playmaker to eventually take over for Tartt as a long-term solution.
How that pans out remains to be seen, but Tartt’s injury history and increasing age likely point towards him playing elsewhere in 2022.