Philadelphia Eagles: 3 veteran safeties worth camp consideration
2. player. 57. . Safety. Chicago Bears. Tashaun Gipson
What’s better than one former University of Wyoming Cowboy in the Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary? Two former University of Wyoming Cowboys in the Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary.
Fortunately, there’s a player who fits that bill in free agency by the name of Tashaun Gipson, who could prove to be a sleeper addition on the down-low.
Though he entered the NFL as a UDFA all the way back in 2012 and was initially utilized as a sub-package player, Gipson rose to national notoriety in his second season with the Cleveland Browns, where he picked off five passes as an NFL sophomore and six more in his third – including two touchdowns – on the way to a Pro Bowl appearance and a restricted free agent tender.
From there, Gipson bounced around the league a bit, signing a five-year, $36 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016, a three-year, $22.55 million deal with the Houston Texans in 2019, and a pair of one-year deals worth $1.05 million and $2.55 million with the Chicago Bears in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Has Tashaun Gipson ever returned to the Pro Bowl-level play he exhibited in Cleveland almost a decade ago? No, but he’s a proven commodity from the deep safety spot who could help to push Marcus Epps and Anthony Harris for playing time and provide value both as a primary backup free safety and as a nickel safety.