Trevis Gipson Looking to Get Career 'Back on Track' With Seattle Seahawks

Once a rising talent for the Bears, Trevis Gipson's star has lost a bit of shine the last two years, but he's confident he can round back into form with the Seahawks.

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Trevis Gipson (50) tries to tackle on Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) during first quarter action. The Jaguars led 20 to 10 at the end of the first half. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Kansas City Chiefs in the Jaguars first preseason game of the season Saturday, August10, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union] / Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

RENTON, Wash. - Only two years ago, newly-acquired Seattle Seahawks veteran outside linebacker Trevis Gipson looked to be on a potential path to stardom after approaching double-digit sacks during a breakout sophomore campaign in the Windy City.

But the past two seasons didn't play out as Gipson hoped, as the Bears waived him last August and he has since spent time with the Titans and Jaguars, struggling to carve out a consistent role with either team. Moving addresses again with the Seahawks trading for him last week in exchange for a sixth-round pick, he's ready to put his best foot forward once again with hopes of recapturing his stellar play from earlier in his career in coach Mike Macdonald's scheme.

"I just need to work hard. Continue to work hard, continue to say my prayers, continue to show up every day," Gipson told reporters during his introduction to the local media on Tuesday. "Eventually things will crack open. Life is about up and downs, you know? So looking forward to getting my career back on track, looking forward to playing with these guys, looking forward to the city. It's a new chapter that I'm excited about."

Though Gipson acknowledged that the trade to Seattle came as a bit of a surprise and created some complications for his family with his wife being in the middle of a pregnancy and not being able to fly in the near future, he's welcoming the latest change in large part due to his giddiness for playing in Macdonald's defense, which offers plenty of parallels to how Chicago utilized him when defensive coordinator Sean Desai called plays in 2021.

After playing sparingly as a rookie coming out of Tulsa, Gipson erupted off the edge for Chicago that season, establishing new career-highs with seven sacks and five forced fumbles, tied for the third-most among edge defenders behind only Joey Bosa and Chandler Jones. Despite logging just 229 pass rushing snaps, he also recorded seven tackles for loss and two batted passes, contributing in a myriad of disruptive ways for the Bears in Desai's defense.

Unfortunately, Gipson couldn't keep momentum going in 2022 with a new coaching staff coming on board, seeing a dip in production across the board with only three sacks in 17 games. By the end of training camp in 2023, the Bears had decided to move on from him during final roster cuts in favor of different personnel, and he managed to muster only a single sack in eight games with the Titans last season.

In March, Gipson signed a one-year deal with Jacksonville, only to get dealt before playing in a single regular season game with the franchise. After Seattle tried to sign him on multiple occasions the past few years, as general manager John Schneider joked on Wednesday, he wasn't getting away this time, especially after starter Uchenna Nwosu suffered a sprained knee that could keep him out for a few weeks.

"We tried signing him a couple times, so I was giving them grief, though," Schneider laughed. "I was like, 'Hey, man, you can't make a choice to go somewhere else now because we actually traded for you this time.' So we signed papers and stuff so you're coming."

Scheme-wise, Gipson has primarily played off the edge as a standup two-point rusher in his career. But as he pointed out to reporters, his role changed a bit when Matt Eberflus took over as Chicago's new head coach in 2022, as the team moved him around a bit more with snaps lined up inside and head up on the tackle rather than as a wide-9 rusher.

Per Pro Football Focus, Gipson lined up outside of the opposing tackle on all but two of his 543 defensive line snaps in his first two seasons with the Bears. In 2022, while he still played most of his snaps out wide, he did play 33 snaps in the B-gap and over the tackle, which was a slight departure from how he had been deployed previously.

Given Macdonald's propensity for moving defenders around, Gipson shouldn't expect to get comfortable lining up strictly outside with his new team either. In training camp and the preseason, new teammates Boye Mafe and Derick Hall moved around some, including sugaring the A-gap a few times as standup defenders, suggesting the veteran could be used in the same fashion by the Seahawks.

In the early phases of learning a new playbook, Gipson admitted it's going to take a while for him to master a complex defense and figure out the "meat and potatoes," but with only two practices under his belt, he already loves what he sees in his potential fit playing in Macdonald's scheme. He's also fired up for the opportunity to complement talents such as Leonard Williams, Dre'Mont Jones, and incoming rookie Byron Murphy II on a stacked defensive front.

"From practice today, being on the edge and seeing the way that we run things and how we rush, I think I'm going to mold in perfectly to this game," Gipson remarked. "I'm looking forward to it. I'm excited. I'm with an outstanding front defensive line, and we have vets, Dre'Mont Jones. We’ve got young guys, Byron Murphy II. You’ve got top and bottom, so it'll be exciting to be able to get in the mix and learn from young and older guys."

Still just 27 years old, Gipson believes he has a lot more to offer than he has been able to showcase the past two years as his career has stalled. While he won't be expected to start for Seattle, Nwosu's injury coupled with the recent trade sending Darrell Taylor to Chicago should open the door for significant snaps immediately, and the coaching staff will be fast tracking him to make sure he's ready to play against Denver in Week 1.

As for expectations, Gibson isn't being shy calling his shot. After previously tallying seven sacks on fewer than 300 pass rushing reps back in 2021, with his confidence already soaring because of his fit in Macdonald's defense and the talent around him, he's dreaming big as he envisions what getting back on track looks like in a fresh start with the Seahawks.

"To me, that looks like a double digit sack season. I know I'm capable of it... I'm not going to let anybody put a ceiling on me. And to me, the sky's the limit. I believe."