NFL Rumors: Bears' Trevis Gipson Receives Permission to Seek Trade Ahead of Season

Coming off a down season in defensive coordinator Alan Williams' system, Trevis Gipson is looking for a new team.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Chicago Bears have given Gipson permission to seek a trade with two weeks remaining before the start of the regular season.

Gipson is entering the final season of his rookie deal. He will earn $2.7 million in base salary and count $2.4 million against the cap, per Over the Cap.

On the team's most recent depth chart posted Aug. 8, Gipson is behind Yannick Ngakoue, Rasheem Green and Terrell Lewis among defensive ends.

A fifth-round draft pick out of Tulsa in 2020, Gipson only appeared in seven games as a rookie.

When Sean Desai replaced Chuck Pagano as Chicago's defensive coordinator in 2021, Gipson shifted to outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. He had a breakout season with seven tackles for loss and seven sacks.

The Bears didn't retain Desai after firing Matt Nagy as head coach in January 2022. When Matt Eberflus was hired as Nagy's replacement, he brought in Williams to run the defense.

Williams' cover-2 style 4-3 defense moved Gipson back to a traditional role on the defensive line. He appeared in all 17 games last season, including starting a career-high 10 games, but only recorded four tackles for loss and three sacks.

If Gipson is looking to get back to a defense that favors more 3-4 base alignments, Desai is currently defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. It would seem unlikely he will employ that scheme significantly given the depth they have at defensive line.

Since Desai comes from the Vic Fangio coaching tree, Gipson could look to pursue a deal to the Miami Dolphins where Fangio is entering his first season as defensive coordinator. Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley is also a Fangio disciple.

Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry and New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Joe Woods are other prominent members of the Fangio coaching tree that could potentially find a role for Gipson's particular set of skills.