NFL News: Veteran Pro Bowl Safety Tashaun Gipson Suspended For Six Games

The NFL is very stringent on rules when it comes to athletes violating the performance-enhancing drug policy for the league. For instance, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will miss the first two games of the 2024 season after he violated the league’s PED policy.

Read more: Brandon Aiyuk Names Two Teams He Would Play For Other Than 49ers

The NFL has come down once again, but in a bigger fashion to current free agent safety, Tashaun Gipson. It has been announced that Gipson has been suspended for the first six games of the 2024 season.

Longtime NFL analyst Adam Schefter reported on Gipson’s suspension saying, “Free-agent safety Tashaun Gipson was suspended six games due to a violation of the performance-enhancing substances policy.”

There have been no details made available on what substance Gipson took that has led to this suspension, but he will have to wait until a third of the season is over before he can play for a team.

Gipson joined the Cleveland Browns in 2012 as an undrafted free agent. In his rookie season, he secured 33 total tackles, one interception, and one pass defended. Gipson’s most successful season came in 2014 when he was named to the Pro Bowl after he had 52 tackles, six interceptions, and a defensive touchdown.

After four seasons with the Browns, Gipson signed a five-year, $36 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Gipson would make 159 total tackles with six interceptions and 16 passes defended in his three seasons with the Jaguars.

Gipson then signed a three-year, $22.25 million contract with the Houston Texans in 2019, though he only played one season with the team. He was released in April 2020.

Gipson would then spend the next two seasons with the Chicago Bears securing 113 tackles, four interceptions, one sack, and 10 passes defended.

In 2022, Gipson was signed to a one-year contract by the San Francisco 49ers. Though he was released on Aug 30, 2022, he was signed to the practice squad the following day. He would eventually be promoted to the active roster on Sep. 13, 2022.

After a successful 2022 campaign with the 49ers, where he brought in 61 tackles, five interceptions, half a sack, and eight passes defended, the 49ers signed him to a one-year contract extension for the 2023 season, though he only secured one interception, one sack, and 60 tackles during that time.

Gipson has yet to be signed to a new team, and even if secondaries become thin due to injury or poor performances, teams may want to stay away from relying on a player who cannot return to action until Week 7.