Trevis Gipson has a new hobby.
The second-year outside linebacker for the Chicago Bears has seen his playing time increase this year, and he has taken advantage of it, netting two sacks over his last two games. He has also taken to Instagram recently to indulge in what appears to be a hilarious new pastime: trolling opposing quarterbacks.
Last week after the Bears beat the Detroit Lions, 24-14, Gipson, who had sacked quarterback Jared Goff in the game, posted this, tagging Goff in the caption:
Then, after Chicago’s Week 5 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, Gipson, who also sacked Derek Carr, posted this, also tagging Carr, along with the caption: “Flew to Vegas and got me a brand new Carr.”
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Gipson Is Showing Flashes This Season
While his teammates got a kick out of his Instagram savagery, they have also been getting a kick out of seeing Gipson ascended.
Over three games this preseason, Gipson finished with the highest pass-rushing grade from Pro Football Focus (92.6) in the league. He tallied a sack, three QB hits and six hurries in those three games, and that hot streak has continued during the regular season.
After playing in seven games last year and registering five total tackles and three QB hits (he played on just 7% of the team’s defensive snaps), Gipson has gotten more opportunities this year, playing on 21% of the Bears’ defensive snaps. So far, he has played in four games, netting seven tackles (three for loss), two QB hits, two sacks, two passes defensed and a forced fumble.
The fifth-round pick out of Tulsa has made his presence felt early, which is an encouraging sign for a Bears defense that isn’t getting any younger. He has also been impressing his veteran teammates, including All-Pro pass rusher Khalil Mack.
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Mack on Gipson: ‘He’s Doing the Small Things Very Well’
“Trevis has grown up tremendously as far as just fundamental things, playing the run, playing the run a little more physical, definitely getting off the ball and playing the pass,” Mack said in August. “Yeah, he’s doing the small things very well, but it’s up to him to take that next leap. Looking forward to seeing him grow even more, you know what I’m saying, from where he’s at right now.”
“I have a tremendous amount of faith in myself,” Gipson said in early August, via the team’s official website. “And I know the opportunities that are being given to me [in] preseason and throughout the season, I’ll take advantage of, so I think I’ll do pretty well. Just me giving 100 percent effort, I think that’ll carry me through a lot of things.”
Gipson has an overall grade from PFF of 84.2 and a pass rush grade of 90.2 so far this season, and he noted heading into the preseason that he had been working on certain aspects of his game.
“It was really just hitting the weight room real hard trying to improve my explosiveness, my power, agility; just really things besides the playbook that I could do to help perform better, which is work on my body,” Gipson added. “This being my second year in camp, I feel a lot more comfortable. I’ve put on a couple pounds that helped me perform better, in my opinion. I know the playbook more. Everything has just slowed down.”
You can tell the game has slowed down for him — and if he stays healthy, this could be an absolute breakout season for Gipson.
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Bears’ Defender Brutally Trolls Raiders QB Derek Carr