The Chicago Bears have a lot of work to do in the offseason after finishing the season with a 3-14 record and sitting in last place in the NFC North.

The Bears appear to have an athletic quarterback who is capable of spectacular plays in Justin Fields, and much is expected of him in the future. While he has already put his game-breaking running ability on display, general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus would like to see more consistency from Fields in the passing game.

The Bears are clearly in the team-building stage, and even if they make significant progress in the offseason, it would still be difficult for them to make the playoffs in the 2023 season.

But one thing the Bears do have is salary cap room and maneuverability. According to Spotrac, the Bears have $38 million more in cap room than any other team in the league. They have $98-million plus to spend before they hit their cap number. Presumably, that means they could go after a slew of talented free agents in addition to having the No. 1 pick in the draft.

A team can never have too much cap space or financial maneuverability, and that means the Bears may still decide to cut a veteran or two.

It only makes sense. Why would Poles and Eberflus want to have any players remain on the roster whom they deem as unable to help the team next year? The main part of the job is adding quality players, and the secondary part is getting rid of poor ones. One of those players is Trevis Gipson

Defensive lineman Trevis Gipson

It's difficult to look at Gipson and think that he will be part of a winning team once the Bears start to improve. He played in all 17 games in 2022 and he started 10 of them. The numbers that Gipson put together seem representative of a last-place team.

Gipson had 31 tackles, 4 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. He batted down 3 passes but he did not have a forced fumble, a fumble recovery or an interception.

Gipson, 6-4 and 263 pounds, can man the defensive end position and he has also played outside linebacker in his career. However, he does not dominate at either position and he is not showing upward mobility.

He regressed during the 2022 season when quite a bit was expected. Remember, the Bears did not have Khalil Mack or Robert Quinn, and Gipson was coming off a 2021 season in which he had 7.0 sacks. Instead of stepping up into a role of making big plays, Gipson was hard to find in crucial situations.

Gipson explained to the Chicago Sun-Times that the 2022 season was one of frustration.

“It is frustrating, but it’s a bunch of things that are different this year,” Gipson said. “I’d give you an answer, but I don’t want to sound like I’m making excuses.

“I’ve just figured out there’s a bunch of things I need to work on. Coming down the middle, I’ve already missed about three sacks, and I’m used to coming off the edge. So I’ve got to work on my change of direction. Am I frustrated? A little bit. But I’m not discouraged. I’m still gonna keep fighting.”

Conclusion

Gipson, 25, may still figure it out and become a more consistent and productive player. But the Bears are presumably going to have a much different look in 2023. It is going to be a challenge for the coaching staff to work in a likely boatload of new players. Do they really want to keep a player around who slipped badly last season?

The Bears can afford to spend money and improve. But they can't afford to waste time with players who have regressed.

They need to cut Trevis Gipson.