Trevis Gipson Is With the Jaguars to Make the Right Decision

The former Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans pass-rusher is looking for a big year with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Aug 31, 2020; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears linebacker Trevis Gipson (99) looks on during training camp. Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports / Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports

Trevis Gipson is in Jacksonville to check off quite a few goals.

The top one? Making the right decision.

Gipson had a chance to join the Jaguars in the past, but his career took him on a few detours first. The first stop of his career took him to Chicago as a fifth-round pick. After a rookie year with just 71 snaps on defense, Gipson exploded in 2021 with seven sacks, seven tackles for loss, and five forced fumbles. Gipson appeared in all 16 games and started nine, truly having a breakout year in Year Two.

2022 brought a year of change, though. The Chicago Bears dumped Matt Nagy's staff, which included outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey, and hired defensive-minded Matt Eberflus to replace him. Eberflus' scheme was a radical change from the defense Gipson broke out in, and 2022 saw Gipson record three sacks in 17 games.

Just two years after his seven-sack season, Gipson was cut by the Bears in 2023 and eventually signed with the Tennessee Titans.

Despite the Titans' losing ways in 2023, the staff never leaned into Gipson as a playmaker. He played in just eight games in 2023, playing just 76 snaps after playing 1,130 snaps in the previous two seasons.

This led Gipson to the Jaguars this offseason as a free agent. One of the team's later signings, Gipson didn't come in with the momentum of the team's other top free agents -- but he could prove to be just as important.

Not only does Gipson fill a key role as No. 3 edge rusher behind Josh Allen and Travon Walker, but signing with Jacksonville reunites him with Shuey, his position coach from 2022.

"I think I have a great opportunity here, you know, I'll be playing with Josh Allen, Travon Walker, Arik Armstead, you know, those are some high-quality guys, especially on the D-line. So I felt like, you know, I can get in there with them and help cause some pressure, help relieve some stress on those guys if they ever come across any," Gipson told Jaguar Report after an OTA practice this week. "Besides that, you know, is a great position to work on my position coach again."

But for Gipson and his story, coming to Jacksonville means more than just reuniting with Shuey and looking for a bounce back year. It means righting a wrong.

"And besides, even last year before I went to Tennessee, I had interest from Jacksonville and, you know, I made the wrong decision, unfortunately," Gipson said.

"But, you know, I'm here to make the right decision. And I'm looking forward to it."

Gipson has been with the Jaguars for just a few months but he already feels evidence of why he made the right decision this time around. In the middle of the team's offseason program, Gipson has immersed himself in the middle of a culture that is in it's third year of being constructed.

"It's amazing here. The environment is amazing, the staff is amazing. You know, it's real chill, laid back. But the thing I love most is how hard we work, man," Gipson said.

"Preparation. When you are prepared, you never doubt or are hesitant about anything, and that's what we have here. We're prepared."

Of course, coaching will be a critical piece to Gipson's time in Jacksonville. He is reunited with a coach who has seen him play at his very best; a coach who has proven he is willing to pound the table for him.

"My first year, coach Shuey was my assistant coach. And then my second year, he became a position coach, and I, you know, I really flourished under him," Gipson said. "He taught me a lot, he broke it down to me in a way that I understand, and you know, I know I have his trust, but I have to continue to gain it because it's with a new organization now, you know, nothing is taken for granted."

"But knowing that you have that coach that you have history with, you know, I've worked out with Travon Walker in the offseason before I even came to Jacksonville, prior to last year, so, you know, just the chemistry and the relationship with guys that transfers over to the field."

Aside from Shuey, Gipson will also be under the tutelage of new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. Nielsen is known around the league as one of it's top defensive line coaches. With the combination of Shuey and Nielsen at his side, Gipson knows he has the chance to become the next in a long line of developmental success stories.

"Man, Ryan, he's an outstanding coach. He keeps me fired up the way that he walks in the building and the way he walks into the meeting room, you know, it's never a dull moment," Gipson said.

"And, you know, he just, he wants to make sure that our iron sharpens iron, our knives are sharp. And, you know, just making sure we're overall prepared, you know, he outstanding worker, you know, you can tell just by the preparation and the coaching and the details that he's trying to install. I think it's a great, great opportunity. He's coached Hall of Famers, you know, he's coached guys that took that next step, and I'm looking forward to draw that from him while I'm here."

Gipson has high goals in Jacksonville. Alongside Allen, Walker, Armstead, and others, Gipson could carve out a significant role and glaring hole in the Jaguars' defensive structure.

But, above all else, he can prove himself right.

"Honestly, it's just all it's all about the team and it's all about winning. And you know, I'm gonna try my best to get get good in the pass-rush, get good in the run, you know. Get my stripes back from the league, I guess you could say," Gipson said.

"But as far as proving anything, man right now, my back is against the wall and I'll swing. I'll swing."