LAS VEGAS — After missing five games with the Chicago Bears and being cut after the 2021 season, San Francisco 49ers safety Tashaun Gipson figured his career was over. Ten seasons with the Cleveland Brows, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, and Bears and 140 games seemed like enough, and he was content to move on with a new phase of his life.
“I started my Little League team, the Dallas Stars,” said Gipson. “Oh man, I tell you the truth. I started talking to my financial advisor. I was well submitted into being a coach dad.”
And then the Niners called. Gipson signed a one-year deal in August 2022 with San Francisco, was released eight days later, and signed to the practice squad. He was finally promoted to the active roster before Week 1, where he has been ever since.
San Francisco 49ers Safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. Thankful for His Latest NFL Opportunity
“I wasn’t out of shape or anything like that, but I just didn’t know when the opportunity was going to come,” Gipson said during Super Bowl week. “By the time training camp came, in two to three weeks, I kind of saying this is the reality. I was blessed enough to play 10 years in the league, which is an accomplishment on itself.”
In his first year with the Niners, Gipson had 61 tackles, eight pass deflections, and a team-high five interceptions in 17 starts. It earned him another one-year deal with the team, a year in which the 12-year vet added another 60 tackles and now is ready to play in his first Super Bowl on Sunday vs. Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes.
“Honestly, this is just so real,” Gipson reflected. “It’s crazy, man. It took me 12 years to get here.”
Now, the challenge in front of him is stopping two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time league MVP Patrick Mahomes. When asked what type of report he’d draw up on Mahomes, Gipson said: “That’s tough man. [49ers defensive coordinator Steve] Wilks said last week that you draw up two plays for one down with him. Sometimes the play doesn’t actually start until he scrambles and does Houdini magic and things like that.”
Gipson went on to talk about where Mahomes is on the all-time Mt. Rushmore of QBs.
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“Honestly, I think he is our generation, well my son’s generation’s G.O.A.T. We can all say he’s probably one of the best quarterbacks to play the game right now. So we’re just witnessing something great, man.”
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