The Houston Texans signed free agent safety Tashaun Gipson to a three-year, $22.6 million contract when the 2019 season officially began.
Texans general manager Brian Gaine told reporters at the team’s pre-draft press conference at NRG Stadium Thursday that he wasn’t a consolation to the club failing to retain Tyrann Mathieu. Rather, Gipson had a skill set that the team wanted to add on the back end.
“Tashaun Gipson’s a veteran player who has played in this division,” said Gaine. “We played him twice a year. He offers the height, weight, speed we like at the position. His versatility when you watch the tape, he has the versatility to play zone, but also man coverage. He’s played a lot of man coverage versus tight ends. That’s an area and strength that we wanted to improve at at the position.”
What Gipson also brought to the Texans that Gaine feels they can work with is his complementing of second-year safety Justin Reid, who was a standout for the Houston secondary, starting in 12 of his 16 games active.
Said Gaine: “We also think his skill set complements Justin Reid very well if those two guys are going to be our starters. He’s been a durable player. He’s been an available player. He’s been a productive guy. There’s a lot of things you can do with him. You can play him from depth. You can play him from down in the box. He’s active in run support. He’s just a steady, dependable, productive player.”
What Gipson immediately does for the Texans is help fill out their roster so Gaine and the coaching staff led by Bill O’Brien can focus on taking the best players available in the NFL draft, which kicks off April 25. Rather than being stuck picking for need or filling holes at safety, with the addition of Gipson, the Texans can focus on other big areas of concern, such as cornerback or offensive line.
