Getty Trevis Gipson has been training with an MMA heavyweight ahead of Bears training camp.
In an effort to improve his pass-rushing abilities ahead of 2023 training camp, Chicago Bears defensive end Trevis Gipson is stepping into the octagon during the break to learn a thing or two from one of the city’s star heavyweight fighters.
Over the weekend, the Bears shared a video to their social media accounts of Gipson getting a behind-the-scenes look at how Chicago’s own Daniel James prepared for his fight against Gokhan Saricam on Saturday night for the Bellator 297 main card. James is currently the No. 4 ranked heavyweight in Bellator MMA with a 15-7-1 record and likely had a few pointers to show the 27-year-old about power in his pass-rush moves.
“So if Trevis got me here, he’s a big dude. If he was an MMA fighter, boy this would be an ugly monster,” James said. “So man, it that would be an ugly scene to see, boy.”
While the video only showed about 90 seconds of Gipson’s session with James, it could certainly help the Bears pass rusher broaden his scope when working to improve his pass-rush toolkit for the upcoming season. Some of the league’s highest-profile pass rushers, such as Myles Garrett, have used boxing and other martial arts to enhance their abilities in the trenches, so perhaps Gipson can take advantage of the crossover.
Trevis Gipson Striving for Bounce-Back Year in 2023
Gipson tends to be one of the least-discussed Bears entering a contract year in 2023, mostly because his performance last season — three sacks and 30 pressures — fell well short of expectations on a defensive line that desperately needed a pass-rushing force.
Gipson seemed to be on the cusp of a breakout in 2021 when he recorded seven sacks and forced five fumbles working opposite Robert Quinn for the Bears. The arrival of Matt Eberflus and his new 4-3 defensive scheme, though, forced him to convert from an outside linebacker to a hand-in-the-ground defensive end, creating a steeper learning curve for his third season.
Things only got tougher for Gipson once Quinn was traded at the November 1 deadline and he rose to the top edge-rushing role. Opposing teams began double-teaming him at a far more frequent rate, leaving him to finish the 2022 season as the fifth-most double-teamed edge rusher in the league — according to ESPN Analytics — behind only Za’Darius Smith, Jerry Hughes, Myles Garrett and Aidan Hutchinson.
Fortunately for Gipson, the Bears remain confident in his ability to bounce back in 2023. According to Heavy Sports insider Matt Lombardo’s league source, the Bears drafted interior defensive linemen instead of edge rushers in the 2023 draft partly because of how confident they are in Gipson’s pass-rushing potential. The source also added that a strong year could earn him a lucrative contract extension with Chicago.
“I’d think if he can get somewhere between 7.0 and double-digit sacks,” Lombardo’s source said, “that should be enough to get a deal done.”
Will Bears Sign Another Pass Rusher Before Camp?
The Bears have made some improvements to their edge-rushing spots since the end of the 2022 season. They signed veterans DeMarcus Walker (three years, $21 million) and Rasheem Green (one year, $2.5 million) to add more depth alongside Gipson and 2022 fifth-rounder Dominique Robinson, giving them a far steadier group of run-stoppers.
Nevertheless, the Bears have continued to suggest they are looking to add another pass rusher to the edge of their defensive line, potentially before the start of training camp on July 25. Some of the top post-draft veterans, such as Frank Clark and former Bear Leonard Floyd, have been taken off the board in the last few weeks, but there are still some quality veterans available who could add a boost to the Bears’ worst unit.
“We love the guys that are here, of course, but our job is to always make the roster better, right?” Eberflus said. “And we’re always going to be looking to upgrade in certain spots that we need to. The premium positions, of course, are first, and then the roleplayers are second, and that’s our job as GM and head football coach.”
Yannick Ngakoue is the best of the remaining veterans and has the proven sack production that should entice the Bears. He has tallied 19.5 sacks over the past two years and never finished a single one of his seven seasons with fewer than eight sacks. The 28-year-old has said he wants to sign a multi-year deal with a contender, but the Bears could potentially convince him of their potential to contend in the next few years.
There is also Justin Houston, who is much older at 35 but is coming off a fantastic 9.5-sack season for the Baltimore Ravens. Additionally, Houston spent two seasons working as a defensive end for Eberflus during their time together with the Indianapolis Colts and would have plug-and-play familiarity with his defensive scheme in Chicago.
