THURSDAY, 10:57am: The deal is official, as John Oehser of Jaguars.com writes.
The five-year deal will pay Gipson $36MM in total, per Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). That pact includes $12MM guaranteed, a $4MM signing bonus, and salaries of $3MM, $5MM, $5.75MM, $7.25MM, and $7MM. His 2016 and 2017 base salaries are fully guaranteed.
The real money for Gipson is $35.5MM, tweets Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer (on Twitter). Incentives can push it to $36MM.
WEDNESDAY, 5:45pm: The Jaguars and safety Tashaun Gipson have agreed to terms on a contract, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Gipson will sign a five-year with a maximum value of $35.5MM deal, report Rand Getlin and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Jacksonville, which entered the free agent period with the most cap space in the league, continues to flex its financial muscle. The club not only agreed to a deal with defensive lineman Malik Jackson that will pay him more $15MM annually, but will sign running back Chris Ivory for more than $6MM per season. They also poached punter Brad Nortman from the Panthers, and were considered serious contenders for Olivier Vernon before he landed with the Giants.
The Browns, meanwhile, have now failed to retain not only Gipson, but center Alex Mack, right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, and receiver Travis Benjamin. A report earlier today indicated that agents were growing frustrated with a perceived lack of hesitation on the part of Cleveland during negotiations, and that lack of aggressiveness may be showing itself as the Browns lose several quality players.
Had Gipson been able to cash in following the 2014 season, he may have earned even more money than he will on his new Jaguars deal, as he posted six interceptions in just 11 games during that ’14 campaign. The 25-year-old was still solid in 2015, though, starting 13 games and racking up two picks and tackles. Gipson ranked as PFR’s No. 31 overall free agent and No. 4 safety.
Quite a few free agent safeties have come off the board today, as George Iloka re-signed with the Bengals while Rodney McLeod, Tyvon Branch, Isa Abdul-Quddus, Dwight Lowery, and others have found new homes. Eric Weddle, Walter Thurmond, and Reggie Nelson are some of the more high-profile names still available.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
i sit here and watch teams like the jags improve. while the 49ers sit and do nothing. even though they dont have many spots to fill
I don’t know what the 49ers cap situation is, but the reason that at least the Jags, Raiders and Giants are able to make these moves is because they a huge amount of cap space. If the 49ers also have a huge amount then they’re screwing up, but if they have limited funds, that could be why.
Niners have a huge cap number. But Not quite sure why they aren’t spending? Maybe freeagents realize the mess there and see no chance at winning. Or Possibly management realizes they have no real chance to winning. so they figure, why spend. If they Draft well, build a young solid core. Then fill the holes through free agency. Keys rebuilding and transitioning back into a contender. They are most likely a few years away from contention.