When the Bears drafted Trevis Gipson in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft, he made the transition from defensive end to outside linebacker, which broadened his skillset to include dropping back in coverage.
Now, Chicago is transitioning to a 4-3 defense under head coach Matt Eberflus, which allows Gipson to make the move back to his natural defensive end position with his hand in the dirt.
“They’re just turning us loose,” Gipson said. “Honestly, letting us play ball, play fast, play smart, with a tremendous amount of effort. So that’s something that’s going to pay off for the whole defense, the whole team, and I think we’re going to have great results.
“I think overall, especially in this defense … it’s going to be tremendous. I get to come out of a three-point, (accelerate) off the ball faster and just little things like that get lost in different positions.”
With Robert Quinn skipping mandatory minicamp, Gipson and fifth-round rookie Dominique Robinson have been seeing plenty of reps with the starters, and there’s plenty to love about their potential.
Gipson is coming off an impressive second year, where he stepped up following Khalil Mack’s season-ending foot surgery. Gipson totaled seven sacks, 39 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss, seven QB hits, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in 16 games with nine starts.
Now, Gipson is heading into his third season where expectations are he’ll take another step forward in his development. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s going back to his natural position.
