Fans weren't sure if Jaquiski Tartt would play this season. The San Francisco 49ers safety dealt with a toe injury during training camp, and his future seemed uncertain. Tartt wasn't even sure when he would return to the field.
"For me, I was thinking ... Man, I probably won't be back until game five, game six," Tartt told reporters after Friday's practice.
Tartt was ready to go for Week 1.
"The training staff did a great job, coaches did a great job of attacking the problem with my toe," the safety continued. "For me, it was more of a spiritual thing as well, just keeping faith that I'll be back in time."
There were several potential game-changing plays during the 49ers' Week 2 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. One might have been Tartt running down wide receiver Quez Watkins and preventing the score. The 91-yard completion seemed huge for the Eagles, but the Niners ultimately stopped Philadelphia, forcing a turnover on downs. That would not have happened without Tartt's intervening sprint.
Imagine running this far and still getting zero points lol pic.twitter.com/H5G3BEkbdd
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) September 20, 2021
Players wear speed trackers during games. What speed did Tartt have to reach to catch up to Watkins on that play?
"I had the highest speed on the team [on] Sunday," Tartt revealed. "For me, I'm still not all the way back yet. I'm still trying to stay on top of my toe, the maintenance, because with my toe, there's other things that can overcompensate for it. For me, I've just got to attack each day and try to keep my body right."
Tartt said that 22.7 MPH was his fastest speed ever recorded, which was before his injury. He's not quite there yet, but he is still pretty fast.
"For me, I'm like the third-fastest on the team," Tartt said before announcing that he believes he reached 21.5 MPH chasing Watkins.
Tartt, a second-round pick by the 49ers in 2015, is in his seventh NFL season. He has recorded 13 tackles, three tackles for a loss, and a pass defensed through two games this season.
"I'm still not all the way back," Tartt added. "For me, it's just I've got to try to stay locked in, just keep doing my job. Week 1, I feel like I played OK. Week 2, I still feel like I played OK. [There were] a few plays I feel like I left on the field. As far as that, I'm hard on myself.
"At the end of the day, I just know I have a job to do, and if I'm not doing 100 percent, I feel like next man up. So for me, I've just got to stay on top of my job."