49ers free agency: Predicting re-sign contracts for these 3 players
By Peter Panacy
49ers free agent No. 2: Safety Jaquiski Tartt
D.J. Jones might be a high-priority free agent the Niners look to re-sign, but it’s arguably smarter to spend that money on veteran strong safety Jaquiski Tartt, as there aren’t exactly any proven starters behind him on the depth chart.
Tartt, who just turned 30 years old, does have an injury history stemming from multiple setbacks suffered each year since 2017, so that’ll knock his offseason value down some even though he enjoyed a relatively injury-free 2021 campaign. And while he might be remembered for that dropped would-be interception in the 2022 NFC Championship game, the cold truth is he does make San Francisco’s secondary a whole lot better.
Like Jones, Tartt returned on a cheap one-year, $987,500 deal last season when the market wasn’t particularly great for defensive backs. At this stage in his career, though, he’ll probably look to cash in on what could be his final call-out for a sizable contract.
Simply put, don’t expect another bargain-basement deal to materialize.
Should the 49ers want to re-sign Tartt, they’d probably have to offer up an incentive-laden deal (accounting for injuries) for at least three years, probably backloading it to see if he can stay healthy once more in 2022.
Prediction: Jaquiski Tartt earns a three-year contract worth up to $12 million ($4 million APY) with $4 million guaranteed