Takeaways of Tashaun Gipson agreeing to sign with Houston Texans

Veteran safety Tashaun Gipson is expected to sign with the Houston Texans.

After Kareem Jackson agreed to sign with the Denver Broncos and Tyrann Mathieu to the Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans general manager Brian Gaine was expected to go out and sign a safety to shore up the losses in free agency.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, Texans were in the sweepstakes to sign Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas III but Diana Russini of ESPN reported that 2014 Pro Bowl safety Tashaun Gipson has agreed to terms with the Texans. This move makes a lot of sense across the board as the Texans signed a safety capable of starting on the defense, Gipson isn’t the flashiest player but he has been productive in his past few seasons.

Gipson will be joining former Jacksonville Jaguars teammate Aaron Colvin after he signed to the Texans in the last free agency period. According to Albert Breer of The MMQB, Gipson will be signing with the Texans for a three-year deal worth up to $22 million. He is slated to earn around $7 million a season which is nearly half of what Mathieu is expected to earn after signing a three-year deal worth up to $42 million.

The safety market exploded after strong safety Landon Collins signed with the Washington Redskins for a 6-year deal for $84 million with $45 million guaranteed. Senior NFL Writer Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports reported that the Texans were still attempting to re-sign Mathieu, but he opted to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Signing Gipson at such a team friendly deal compared to the deals other safeties were getting in the first wave of free agency is an impressive addition for Gaine and the Texans front office. Most importantly Gipson’s addition to the secondary will not affect the Texans ability to garner compensatory for the 2020 NFL Draft since he was waived by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Gipson is expected to be the starter at safety alongside Justin Reid, and have Andre Hal as the backup safety.