The 49ers didn't completely rule out a reunion with free agent safety Jaquiski Tartt when asked about the subject on Saturday, but they didn't exactly sound like one was high on their priority list either.
The subject of Tartt came up during 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's post-draft press conference, during which they discussed why the team chose not to draft a safety. Tartt spent the first spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career with the 49ers after they selected him in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft, but he's currently unsigned and seems to be a long shot to return to the Bay Area for another season.
"We haven't talked to Quaski," Lynch said. "We haven't gone there yet. We'll see. He's a free agent. We think highly of Quaski. He played a lot of good football for us, and we're grateful for that. Talented, talented dude. He'll play in this league and continue to play at a high level."
Shanahan didn't shut the door on re-signing Tartt ("Everyone knows Tartt played at a high level and helped us out a lot. We would never rule out anybody like that," he said), but he also seemed pleased with the safeties the 49ers currently have on their roster.
"You'd love to add a safety, but we've also got Jimmie Ward, who's pretty good," Shanahan said. "We spent a draft pick on (Talanoa) Hufanga last year, who had a really good rookie year. We brought in a really good safety in free agency in (George) Odum who was a special teams captain for his team and started a number of games for them this year... Then we've got Tarvarius (Moore) coming back (from a torn Achilles) who in 2020 played half a year as a starter and we feel like he finished his last five games as a true starting safety, and before that he was always one of our best special teams players. So we have four NFL players there."
Tartt, 30, totaled 367 tackles, four sacks, 18 passes defensed, and four interceptions during his seven seasons with the 49ers but also saw his 2021 season end on a sour note when he dropped what could have been a game-changing interception late in the 49ers' loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship game. The 49ers haven't quite finalized their 90-man roster for the weeks and months ahead, but it sounds likely that Tartt may continue to not be a part of the team's secondary moving forward.
