Trevis Gipson & Ex-Bears Starter Landing With AFC Contender

Getty Former Bears defensive end Trevis Gipson, right, says he is joining the Titans.

The Chicago Bears’ two highest-profile roster cuts — Trevis Gipson and Kindle Vildor — are both landing with the same AFC contender for the 2023 season.

Gipson — a 19-game starter for the Bears at edge rusher — has indicated on X (formerly Twitter) that he will be signing with the Tennessee Titans for the upcoming season after Chicago waived him from its 53-man roster and he went unclaimed on the waivers. \

The Titans have not officially announced the move, but it is expected to be included in August 31’s roster transactions when the NFL releases them later Thursday afternoon.

The landing spot appears to be a good one for Gipson, who will now get to move back to the outside linebacker position in the Titans’ 3-4 defensive scheme. He had recorded a seven-sack season in 2021 before Matt Eberflus was hired as head coach and switched the Bears to a 4-3 scheme, but he struggled in his new defensive end position in 2022.

Gipson will also reunite with Vildor in Tennessee after the Titans claimed the 25-year-old cornerback off the waivers from the Bears on the first day after cuts on August 30. Both Gipson and Vildor were 2020 fifth-round picks for the Bears under former general manager Ryan Pace and played starting roles for their defense over the past two years.

Vildor was the only player waived from the Bears’ 53-man roster who was claimed.

Scheme Fit Motivated Bears to Waive Trevis Gipson

The Bears raised a few eyebrows when they decided not to retain Gipson for their 53-man roster. He had finished with the NFL’s most pressures (14) along with two sacks during the 2023 preseason slate and seemed to have put himself in a good position to win a roster spot despite the Bears signing three pass rushers in free agency.

There was a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that the Bears had granted Gipson permission to seek a trade before the roster cutdown, but both Gipson and general manager Ryan Poles confirmed that the 26-year-old never requested to be traded.

Turns out, the real issue was the Bears’ belief that Gipson was not a scheme fit.

“In terms of Gipson, love that kid,” Poles told reporters on August 30. “It was more of a fit thing, a scheme fit. I think his success came in a different scheme. We had a great conversation yesterday, and I’m excited to see where he goes and what he does.”

Gipson did experience a significant dropoff in his pass-rushing production last season in the Bears’ new scheme. After notching two sacks against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2, Gipson did not record another one until the second-to-last game of the year. Assistant general manager Ian Cunningham was quick to clarify, though, that it was not underperformance that motivated their decision to move on from Gipson in 2023.

Assistant general manager Ian Cunningham echoed Poles’ sentiment and made sure to clarify that it was not underperformance from Gipson that motivated their decision.

“I don’t think he fell short, I’ll just say that with us, like Ryan touched on, he had his most production in a 3-4 scheme versus a 4-3,” Cunningham said. “He did a lot for us, just in terms of the leadership and who he was, showed up every day. We just wanted the best situation for him, and ultimately that was the decision we came to.”

Kindle Vildor Should Help Reinforce Titans’ CB Room

Poles and Cunningham were not asked about the departure of Vildor and their reasons for moving on from one of their 2022 starting outside cornerbacks. For the most part, the reasons are self-explanatory. The Bears have drafted three new cornerbacks over the past two drafts, including second-rounders Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson, and are entering a contract year with top starter Jaylon Johnson.

Put simply, there was no room left for a fourth-year cornerback who had done little to distinguish himself in the competition over the course of camp and the preseason.

Still, Vildor caught a break with the Titans claiming him and his $2.74 million base salary for their 53-man roster. He will now have a chance to challenge Anthony Kendall and Tre Avery for rotational reps on the outside behind starters Sean Murphy-Bunting and Kristian Fulton with Roger McCreary likely to be their top option in the slot.

It could be a short-lived stay for Vildor with 2021 first-rounder Caleb Farley expected to return from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list later in the season, but he will have at least four games — barring a cut decision — to prove himself worthy of staying.