On Monday, Jaquiski Tartt signed a one-year deal to return to the San Francisco 49ers. Hours after the news broke, he sat down to speak with reporters via Zoom.
The safety's 2020 campaign didn't go as hoped. Aside from the team's 10 total losses, Tartt's play was limited to seven games after landing on injured reserve with a toe injury.
Tartt provided an update on his recovery.
"At this point, I'm doing well, and surgery went well," the safety told reporters. "Rehab has been going well. But when it happened, I thought I was probably going to miss a game or two. To get the news that it was a Grade-3, it was tough for me."
Tartt is excited to be back with the team that made him a second-round draft pick in 2015. He tested the free-agency waters, which didn't really include the New York Jets too much. Most assumed that might be a potential destination given that Robert Saleh, the 49ers' former defensive coordinator, is now the head coach there.
"They reached out to my agents, but I think they have Marcus Maye there, so I think they kind of saw us as the same player," Tartt shared.
Despite a lot of interest from other teams, Tartt really wanted to return to the 49ers, and was worried it might not happen. He felt maybe the team wanted to move on from him because of his injury history. Last season was the third time in four years that the safety landed on injured reserve.
"It was stressing me because I've been here my whole time in the NFL," Tartt said. "It's like a family here. For me, it was just coming back to where I was familiar with. ... Honestly, I was up in the air. I wasn't sure (I might return) because of me coming off an injury. I wasn't sure if they were going to want me back here or not. But they did, and that was a good thing for me because I felt like I left a lot on the field last year. So, I'm glad to be back here."
Tartt also expressed his excitement about being able to continue playing alongside Jimmie Ward. He hopes the two can stay on the field for the entire season to show everyone that they can be among the league's top safety duos.
Tartt also hopes the 49ers can find a way to get back slot cornerback K'Waun Williams.
"I've been in communication with [Williams]," Tartt said. "For him, he's going to do what's the best thing for him. I feel like the best thing for him is to come (back) here. It would be great to get him back. On the defensive side, he's a guy that's very valuable to our secondary, so hopefully, we can get him back."
