When the Chicago Bears traded Robert Quinn it had set up for a great opportunity for Trevis Gipson. Gipson was the most productive rusher on the team, including Quinn, through seven games, and now he was going to get a full workload to see what he could when unleashed.
The answer is next to nothing. Since the Robert Quinn trade, Trevis Gipson has been next to invisible.
Chicago Bears need more from Trevis Gipson
During the first seven weeks of the season, Gipson recorded 16 pressures. He had a Pass rush productivity rating of 14, and a pass rush wins rate of 25.6%, per PFF. Since week seven he has five pressures, a 2.5 pass-rush productivity rating, and he has a win rate of just 8%.
He is essentially 1/3 as successful as the first part of the season. What stings more is that run defense has been the bigger issue, as he is almost just a pass rusher at this point. The team would be best getting him off of the field on run-downs, but he is not getting home as a pass rusher, either. What are they getting from Trevis Gipson?
Right now, nothing. This seems to answer a theory that has been floating around Chicago for a while. When Robert Quinn came into town, Khalil Mack saw a drop in stats. However, many fans said that had to do with attention shifting to Mack, and the result was Quinn having elite sack production.
When Mack left, the attention shifted from him to Quinn. So, all of a sudden Quinn saw his stats drop off, and all of a sudden Gipson is getting home. Now that Gipson is the top dog, he cannot find success.
The issue for him is that the person across from him is not taking advantage of this either. So, for as much as you want to blame Gipson, he could be getting credit for setting things up if he had a competent rush around him.
Gipson is signed on next season, and will likely be in the mix. The Chicago Bears should be thinking that as a third or fourth rusher who mainly plays on passing downs they still have something in Trevis Gipson.
Asking him to start, let alone asking him to be the best rusher on the team is asking for too much. If the team can temper expectations, they can still get enough out of Gipson to be satisfied.