The Chicago Bears have not had the same two starting safeties on the roster since 2018 when Adrian Amos played his final season and the Bears saw the emergence of Eddie Jackson as a top safety in the NFL. This is all changing in 2021 as the Chicago Bears have brought back safety Tashaun Gipson on a one-year deal.
Per source, safety Tashaun Gipson has agreed to terms on a one-year deal to return to the Chicago Bears.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) April 19, 2021
Looking back at the 2019 offseason, Amos left Chicago to go hang with the neighbors to the north. Ryan Pace answered the loss of Amos by signing Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to a one-year deal. Clinton-Dix had a strong season while here in Chicago. Honestly, his season was very comparable, if not slightly better than Amos’ season in Green Bay.
Was bringing back Tashaun Gipson the right move for the Chicago Bears?
Clinton-Dix was not retained in 2020 though as he moved on to play for the Dallas Cowboys. Pace brought in Tashaun Gipson to try and replace him. Gipson had a decent year last year too, but I’d argue it was not as good as Clinton-Dix.
Clinton-Dix recorded 78 total tackles (62 solos) and two interceptions with the Bears in 2019. He returned one for a touchdown. He had five pass deflections and two fumble recoveries. Looking at his advanced stats, he only allowed 59.1% completion percentage and a 67 QB rating despite being targeted 44 times.
Gipson on the other hand finished 2020 with 66 combined tackles (48 solos) and seven pass deflections. He too had two interceptions on the year (none for a touchdown). When we look at his advanced stats though, Gipson allowed 63.6% of passes to be completed while being targeted (also 44 targets). He allowed three touchdowns too, which gave quarterbacks a 96.3 QB rating while throwing it in Gipson’s direction.
Now, this is not to say that Gipson had a bad season or that the signing is a mistake. I am a little shocked the team did not wait to see what happened after the 2021 NFL Draft, but it is possible that Sean Desai, Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace decided that continuity between Eddie Jackson and Tashaun Gipson is ideal for this defensive backfield heading into the 2021 season — especially after the loss of cornerback Kyle Fuller.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, this signing makes sense and I am perfectly okay with it. This is just another move that gives the team more flexibility heading into the draft. I cannot wait to see what happens in nine days.