Seahawks find Darrell Taylor's upgrade in trading for Trevis Gipson
By Lee Vowell
Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider continues to make trades this preseason and pulled off his third in a week as the team acquired edge rusher Trevis Gipson. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported the move on Monday. In return for Gipson, Seattle will give the Jacksonville Jaguars a "late-round" draft pick.
Gipson has spent four years in the league, his first three with the Chicago Bears and last year with the Tennessee Titans. He had a career-high seven sacks in 2021 and a career-high in total pressures with 30 in 2022. He is not the greatest tackler, though, and he will need to correct that if he wants to get a bunch of reps in Mike Macdonald's defense.
The edge rusher should be considered the true replacement for Darrell Taylor who was traded to the Bears last week. Gipson does not have the raw sack numbers that Taylor has, but he is a better run defender because, well...let's be honest, being worse at playing the run than Taylor probably means you've never played in the NFL at all.
Seattle Seahawks trade for edge rusher Trevis Gipson
Gipson only played in eight games with the Titans last year, including just 76 total snaps. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) still gave Gipson an elite grade in terms of pass rush and he also graded well as a run defender. He had seven total pressures in only 39 pass-rush snaps.
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The former fifth-round draft pick in 2020 out of Tulsa is 6'4" and 265 pounds, so about the same size as Taylor. The issue is that he has shown a willingness to play the run whereas Taylor seemed afraid to do so. Gipson also won't be expected to be a starter. Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe are at the top of the Seahawks edge rusher depth chart.
Gipson will supply a veteran presence who should be a good fit in Macdonald's defense, however. Second-year pro Derick Hall has had a fantastic preseason and hopefully, that means good things for the real games this season. With Hall's ascendance and the addition of Gipson, Seattle's edge rusher group is improved with Taylor no longer being on the team.
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