Getty Bears head coach Matt Eberflus.
Trevis Gipson might need to have a strong preseason with the Chicago Bears to secure his spot on the 53-man roster after the team dropped him to the bottom of its first unofficial depth chart of 2023 training camp earlier this week.
Gipson — a 2022 starter for the Bears — was listed as the fourth defensive end on the left side of the line behind starter Yannick Ngakoue, Rasheem Green and Terrell Lewis. The right side of the line featured 2023 signing DeMarcus Walker as the starter with second-year Dominique Robinson and rookies D’Anthony Jones and Jalen Harris behind him in the rotation.
It had been expected that Gipson would lose his starting role when Ngakoue signed and the Bears indicated he would be an “every-down end” for their defense, but it is still a bit surprising to see Gipson not even listed as one of the top backups at either position. The Bears even touted Gipson being able to play on both sides of the line in the spring.
Gipson is fighting for his long-term future with the Bears heading into the final year of his fifth-round rookie contract in 2023. According to Pro Football Focus, he hit career-high numbers in quarterback hits (seven), hurries (20) and pressures (30) in 2022, but he also had a tough time finishing the job as a pass rusher and notched only three sacks.
Some of that can be explained away as Gipson having to learn a new defensive role, going from a 3-4 outside linebacker in his first two seasons to a 4-3 defensive end in the new scheme that head coach Matt Eberflus installed in 2022. Still, the 26-year-old end is running out of time to prove himself to the new regime and may need to strongly state his roster case before the end of camp to avoid getting left out in the cold.
Could Bears Attempt to Trade Gipson to Better Fit?
At this point, it is probably too soon to put Gipson on bubble watch with the Bears. He is still a relatively young player who has notched 10 sacks over the past two seasons and offers them depth at what is still arguably the weakest position on their roster. He also only costs about $2.82 million against the salary cap as a player on a rookie contract.
If the Bears reach the end of training camp and decide they are comfortable with the four-man stack of Ngakoue, Walker, Robinson and Green at defensive end, though, perhaps they could try finding a trade partner for Gipson instead of cutting him.
Gipson’s numbers in 2022 don’t pop off the chart in a way that screams “trade value,” but scheme could be an important factor in potentially shopping around. A team that runs a 3-4 system and is looking to acquire an outside linebacker could look at Gipson’s seven-sack season with the Bears in 2021 opposite Robert Quinn and see potential for him to contribute to their defense. A team like, say, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Bears would also most likely not be looking for significant trade compensation for Gipson. Perhaps they could get as high as a conditional fifth-round pick from a team, but it seems more likely that a sixth-rounder would be the price tag on a Gipson trade.
Kindle Vildor Also Sinks Down Depth Chart at CB
Gipson wasn’t the only returning starter from the 2022 roster who was significantly demoted when the Bears released the first version of their depth chart on August 8.
The Bears also bumped cornerback Kindle Vildor, a 2020 fifth-round pick, to the bottom of the pecking order at the right outside cornerback position. He was listed at No. 5 in the order behind starter Kyler Gordon — who will likely play in the slot instead — as well as fifth-round rookie Terell Smith, Josh Blackwell and Michael Ojemudia. Meanwhile, the left side included second-round rookie Tyrique Stevenson, Greg Stroman Jr. and Jaylon Jones as the backups behind top starter Jaylon Johnson.
Unlike Gipson, Vildor’s roster status has been shaky for some time now. The Bears have drafted three cornerbacks over the past two drafts, including both Stevenson and Smith in 2023, and did not get much impactful play out of Vildor during the 2022 season. With both Stevenson and Smith impressing at training camp in their competition for the right outside starting job, Vildor is starting to look extremely expendable.
The real threat to Vildor, though, are the guys vying for the fifth and sixth spots in the rotation. His experience (22 starts over 44 career games) gives him a sizable advantage over the rest of the field, but the Bears got quality reps out of both Blackwell and Jones as undrafted rookies in 2022 and might be more interested in developing them as their rotation cornerbacks. Don’t be surprise if Michael Ojemudia — a 202o third-rounder for the Denver Broncos — makes a serious push for a roster spot as well in the preseason.