If Trevis Gipson shows he is ready for primetime, it gives the Chicago Bears more flexibility in what moves they can make.
As we all know, the Chicago Bears are starting yet another rebuild. They are trying again to find the best combination of a general manager, coaches, and players to finally return to a consistently winning team.
Ryan Poles is the next man up to try to reverse the misfortunes of the franchise. However, he inherited a mess of a roster. The Bears didn’t have much roster flexibility so he spent this offseason creating some. He released some popular veterans and traded arguably the most popular player on the team, Khalil Mack.
The moves allowed the Bears to create a ton of salary cap space starting next season. Additionally, Poles resisted the urge to go after some of the more popular names available in free agency. There were plenty of players who could have helped the team this season. Poles had a plan to build for the future, though, and he stuck with it.
As a result, Poles also created some cap space for this season as well. According to Overthecap.com, the Bears now have over $23.8 million in cap space in 2022. Sure, it doesn’t help for the players who were already scooped up but it helps should a player that the team is interested in become available now. A lot of teams spent most of their money. The Bears are one of the teams who still have a good amount to make moves should the need arise.
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Now Gipson can help Poles make even more moves
In addition to the moves Poles made to help in the rebuild, there is a player who can also help. Trevis Gipson did a great job of covering for Mack when the future Hall of Famer went down for the season in 2021. He stepped up and did what the team needed from him.
Gipson’s play allowed the Bears to move on from Mack. He showed he was ready for the challenge. Now, if he shows that last year wasn’t a fluke he could help Poles make even more moves.
If Gipson continues to play well, he could make Robert Quinn expendable. Quinn broke the franchise record for sacks in a season in 2021. However, he is 32 and isn’t a part of the Bears’ future.
The thing is that Quinn’s value is at an all-time high. The Bears could reward Quinn by sending him to a team that could contend for a title. In return, the Bears could get even more salary cap relief in addition to much-needed draft picks.
For the Bears to consider trading Quinn they have to know that they still have at least one dependable pass rusher. That guy is Gipson. Let’s face it, this season is a wash. No one expects much from the Bears except to get their lumps and give the young players some experience. Then, when they have all this cap space next season, Poles can insert some top-notch players into the roster.
The Bears can have Al-Quadin Muhammad start at the other defensive end spot. He is a veteran who can make some plays, though he isn’t a Quinn.
In addition, the Bears could use rookie Dominique Robinson for a few snaps. Let him gradually play so he gets accustomed to the NFL. Robinson was the Bears’ fifth-round pick. He has some amazing quickness and is athletic. That is due to him being a wide receiver before switching to defensive end. Many draft analysts think the Bears might end up with a steal in Robinson.
Instead of keeping him buried looking at playbooks and watching other players perform, Robinson could do some performing himself. Nothing accelerates the learning process than actually going out and performing.
All that hinges on Gipson, however. If he isn’t ready to be a leader on the field and off it, then the Bears will have to keep Quinn and wait until next offseason to unload him. By then the deals Poles could make might not be as good as he can make today.
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