Getty Bears head coach Matt Eberflus.
Trevis Gipson had a strong showing for the Chicago Bears in their preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans last Saturday, notching eight pressures, five tackles, three quarterback hits and one sack in the 23-17 victory, but a few beat reporters still don’t envision him making the Bears’ 53-man roster in 2023.
On August 14, Adam Jahns and Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic published an updated 53-man roster projection for the Bears following the team’s first 2023 preseason game and had Gipson still missing the final cut despite being all over the field against the Titans. It was the same conclusion that NBC Sports Chicago’s Josh Schrock arrived at about Gipson with all three of them picking Terrell Lewis to make the roster over him.
Like Gipson, Lewis put on a show during his 38 snaps of action against the Titans, recording a team-high two sacks along with three pressures and a forced fumble. The former Los Angeles Rams 2020 third-round pick has also remained impressive — and consistent — for the Bears in the first few weeks of practice at training camp.
“The next couple of weeks will be about Lewis versus Gipson for that final spot in our projection, but the Bears could also consider keeping eight, which they did at cutdowns last summer,” Fishbain wrote. “I do think Lewis has been more consistent, and it is worth noting he’ll come at half the cost — Gipson is due to make $2.7 million in base salary.
“While the Bears can easily afford that, is it worth spending on a rotational defensive lineman? It might be if Gipson keeps playing like he did Saturday.”
Will Trevis Gipson Defy Expectations & Make the Roster?
Gipson has been an intriguing case for the Bears over the past few seasons. Coming into Matt Eberflus’ first season as head coach in 2022, he was riding the high of a seven-sack season for the Bears from the previous campaign and looked like he could potentially be a breakout piece off the edge of their defensive line. The potential for a big season only got higher when he won a Day 1 starting job opposite Robert Quinn at defensive end.
Instead, Gipson’s third season in the league ended up being more of a struggle.
While Gipson achieved career-high marks in pressures (30), quarterback hits (seven) and quarterback hurries (20), he had trouble finishing the job when it came to bringing down opposing passers, totaling just three sacks on the season. He also left questions about how sturdy of a run defender he could be with Pro Football Focus grading him a low 39.7 as a run defender but ESPN crediting him with the sixth-best run-stop win rate (29%) in the league among defensive ends and outside linebackers in 2022.
Now, Gipson is left trying to prove his worth in the final year of his rookie contract without holding a marquee role with the defensive line. The additions of DeMarcus Walker, Yannick Ngakoue and Rasheem Green have seemingly knocked him down the pecking order for 2023 with the Bears’ first unofficial depth chart listing him as the No. 4 left end behind Ngakoue, Green and Lewis.
A good start to the preseason can help Gipson get back on track with the Bears, but he will need to stack more strong performances together if he wants to beat the odds.
“I light my own fire if I’m being honest with you,” Gipson told reporters after Saturday’s game against the Titans. “I’ve been doubted my whole life. I’ve never let anybody on the outside world determine my faith, my faith in God or my faith in my hard work.”
Trevis Gipson. #Bears
Kindle Vildor Firmly on Bubble Watch After Opener
Gipson has only recently entered bubble-watch territory with the Bears, but another former fifth-round pick — cornerback Kindle Vildor — has been there for a while and has done very little in the first few weeks of training camp to distinguish himself.
Vildor also received a significant demotion in the Bears’ first unofficial depth chart of 2023 training camp, sinking to the bottom behind other less experienced cornerbacks, such as fifth-round rookie Terell Smith, Josh Blackwell and Michael Ojemudia. Unlike Gipson, though, he lacked presence as a defender in the opener against the Titans.
Vildor finished with the team’s third-highest coverage grade (76.3) from Pro Football Focus against the Titans, but he also mostly disappeared into the background of their defense, recording just one tackle and allowing a 4-yard reception the only time he was targetted with a pass in his 19 coverage snaps played on Saturday. Meanwhile, the other cornerbacks competing for spots in the rotation were much more active with Ojemudia, Kyler Gordon and second-round rookie Tyrique Stevenson each breaking up a pass and delivering some hard hits on the afternoon that brought more energy to the defense.
At this point, the Bears might not have too many spots in their cornerback rotation up for grabs with Jaylon Johnson, Gordon, Stevenson and Smith all essentially locked to make the 53-man roster. The other spots — likely two more, but maybe just one — will almost certainly come down to special teams performance, which is not good for Vildor given his rather meager career impact in the third phase for the Bears.
Maybe Vildor will surprise everyone and fight his way back into Chicago’s good graces as a rotational cornerback, but it is unlikely with just two weeks to make up ground.