With defensive end Trevis Gipson at the bottom of the depth chart, it appears he and the Bears are done with each other.
The Bears gave Gipson and his agent permission to seek a trade, a source said, and it looks likely he will be waived by Tuesday when teams are required to cut their rosters to 53 for the regular season. They listed him as fourth-string on their depth chart ahead of their preseason game against the Bills on Saturday.
Former general manager Ryan Pace drafted Gipson, 26, in the fifth round out of Tulsa in 2020, and he turned into a decent value. He had seven sacks in 2021 as a part-time starter, but dropped to three last season despite getting more playing time.
He was thought to be in line for a starting job this season, and that was plausible given the Bears’ shortage at defensive end. However, they signed veteran Yannick Ngakoue a week into training camp and have seen other players like Terrell Lewis and Rasheem Green overtake Gipson. Undrafted rookie D’Anthony Jones also is ahead of Gipson.
Gipson boosted his stock with a strip-sack on Bills quarterback Kyle Allen late in the second quarter Saturday.