Seattle Seahawks make another trade for a pass rusher

Aug 26, 2024, 11:28 AM | Updated: 12:44 pm

Trevis Gipson of Chicago forces Kyle Allen of Buffalo to fumble on Aug. 26, 2023. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

(Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Seahawks continue to be busy on the trade front as the first season under new head coach Mike Macdonald approaches.

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On Monday morning, the Seahawks traded draft-choice compensation to the Jacksonville Jaguars for outside linebacker Trevis Gipson. According to ESPN Jaguars reporter Michael DiRocco (via ESPN Seahawks reporter Brady Henderson), the pick Seattle is sending to Jacksonville is a sixth-rounder.

The trade is pending a physical, per the Seahawks.

To make room for Gipson on the current 90-man roster, the Seahawks waived cornerback Willie Roberts.

It is the third trade the Seahawks have made in less than a week, and it comes a day before NFL teams must cut down to 53-man rosters in preparation for the regular season.

Seattle Seahawks trade with Panthers | Hawks deal Taylor to Bears

Seattle dealt veteran cornerback Michael Jackson to the Carolina Panthers for rookie linebacker Michael Barrett last Thursday, then traded edge rusher Darrell Taylor to the Chicago Bears on Friday for a sixth-round pick. That same draft selection now appears headed to Jacksonville, as Seattle already sent its own sixth-rounder in 2025 to the New York Giants last year in a trade for defensive lineman Leonard Williams.

Seattle perhaps has more need now for pass rush help than it did heading into the weekend following a knee injury to veteran outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu in Saturday’s preseason finale, a 37-33 win over the Cleveland Browns.

How bad is Uchenna Nwosu’s injury? Report provides update

The 6-foot-3, 259-pound Gipson spent his first three NFL seasons with Chicago after being drafted in the fifth round in 2020 out of Tulsa. He started nine of 16 games played in 2021, making a career-high seven sacks, seven tackles for loss, 39 combined tackles, five forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He also had two passes defensed and seven QB hits that year.

Robert Quinn and Trevis Gipson combine on the strip sack for Chicago. #DaBears

📺: #CHIvsDET on FOX
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/a0QIctMnSs

— NFL (@NFL) November 25, 2021

Gipson had roughly the same amount of playing time in 2022 with the Bears but saw his production dip a bit (three sacks, 31 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, three passes defensed in 17 games with 10 starts). He played eight games with no starts in 2023 with the Tennessee Titans after being waived by the Bears late last August.

The Jaguars signed Gipson in free agency on March 19. He is set to make $1.125 million, per Spotrac. Seattle now has essentially swapped out Taylor for Gipson at outside linebacker, clearing up roughly $2 million under the salary cap in the process.

The Jaguars expected Gipson to be an upgrade from K’Lavon Chaisson, but Gipson was seemingly beaten out in training camp by rookie Myles Cole and second-year pro D.J. Coleman.

“When you have good players and other teams have needs, you’re obviously going to listen,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said. “You’re going to listen to other teams. It’s no different than during the draft process or a free agency or anything like that.

“Trevis has done an outstanding job for us. I think it’s a good situation for him. It’s a good situation for the team he’s going to and obviously the compensation for us. It’s a win-win. It gives him an opportunity to play.”

The Seahawks’ Week 1 matchup is a 1:05 p.m. game on Sept. 8 at Lumen Field in Seattle against the Denver Broncos. Radio coverage from Seattle Sports will begin at 10 a.m. with the pregame show. For details on all of the ways to listen to Seahawks Radio Network broadcasts with play-by-play announcer Steve Raible and color commentator Dave Wyman, click here.

This post includes contributions from The Associated Press.