Safety Jaquiski Tartt discussed why he re-signed a one-year contract with the 49ers and updated his recovery from a turf-toe injury he suffered last season.
Six-year veteran safety Jaquiski Tartt’s entry into NFL free agency did not come at a great time.
In addition to a shrinking salary cap, Tartt is four months removed from surgery to repair a turf toe injury. It is the kind of injury that can be difficult from which to bounce back.
Tartt sustained a season-ending torn ligament of the big toe on his right foot while making a tackle in the 49ers’ Nov. 5 game against the Green Bay Packers.
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“At this point, I’m doing well,” Tartt said Monday after re-signing with the 49ers on a one-year contract. “Surgery went well. Rebab’s been going well.
"But when it happened, I thought I’d probably miss a game or two, and to get the news that it was a Grade 3, it was tough for me.”
The injury as the latest for Tartt, 29, who has been available for just 36 of the 49ers’ past 64 regular-games due to a variety of injuries.
Tartt said he was not sure when the season ended if he would back with the 49ers for a seventh season.
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“I was up in the air,” he said. “I wasn’t sure because of me coming off the injury. I wasn’t sure they’d want me back here or not. They did. That was a good thing for me. I felt like I left a lot on the field last year so I’m glad to be back here.”
The 49ers on Monday signed nine-year veteran Tavon Wilson. Younger safeties Tarvarius Moore and Marcell Harris are also on the roster to compete for jobs alongside starting free safety Jimmie Ward.
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Tartt said he does not take for granted that he will be the starting strong safety. He said coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have instilled a culture of competition since coming to the 49ers in 2017.
“It’s all competition, and that’s what it’s been since Kyle and John have been here,” Tartt said. “It’s always been competition . They’re just not going to hand anyone a job. For me anyway, I approach every day like somebody is trying to take my job. That’s just how it is.”
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