Tashaun Gipson: Did the Jacksonville Jaguars overpay?
By Daniel Lago
The Jacksonville Jaguars have been looking for a free safety for the last 3 years and they finally signed one this offseason in Tashaun Gipson, but did they pay too much?
When the Jacksonville Jaguars took strong safety Johnathan Cyprien in the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft, he was heralded as the “Kam Chancellor” of new head coach Gus Bradley’s defensive scheme. Three years later, Cyprien hasn’t really developed into anything close to what Kam is for the Seattle Seahawks, but he’s caught a little bit of a break because the Jaguars haven’t had a legitimate free safety (their own “Earl Thomas”).
That’s no longer the case after the Jaguars acquired former Cleveland Browns safety Tashaun Gipson in free agency. Before a down year in 2015, Gipson was one of the top safeties in the NFL in 2014 and proved himself to be a playmaker in the back end. The Jaguars gave Gipson a fairly big deal, but it’s more than fair considering his talent and how much he means to Jacksonville’s scheme.
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Even though Gipson hasn’t played a down for the Jaguars yet, John Breitenbach over at Pro Football Focus thinks the new safety
has the 5th worst contract in the league at his position
.
"5. Tashaun Gipson, Jacksonville JaguarsYears remaining: FiveAverage remaining cap hit (per year): $7.2 millionYears he can realistically be cut: 2018Gipson certainly has talent, but his new deal with Jacksonville is an incredible risk indicative of a regime under pressure to win now. The former Brown graded near Sendejo last season, and had one of the worst statistical seasons of any safety in the league. He missed 11 of 67 attempted tackles and surrendered a QB rating of 105.2 into his coverage, including four touchdowns. Quite what the Jaguars saw in his performances to hand him a five-year, $36 million deal is unclear, unless the organization is banking on a return to his 2014 form—where he graded 15th amongst safeties—but that is far from a certainty. Jacksonville also handed Gipson $12 million in guarantees. It highlights the importance of the safety position in Gus Bradley’s scheme, but also how desperate the franchise is to contend in 2016."
Breitenbach isn’t projecting at all and he’s not using any context whatsoever. Gipson was on a horrific mess of a defense in 2015 on the Browns and it showed – he was played out of position all too often and really didn’t have a defined role. The Jaguars are almost certainly going to deploy him as a pure free safety, the role he thrived in during the 2014 season.
It’s comical to tag Gipson as an overpaid player considering he hasn’t played a down for the Jaguars and his ceiling. This article and ranking will provide a solid chuckle down the road.