Bears players were encouraged to voice grievances in their exit interviews Monday and defensive tackle Justin Jones was more than willing to air his — the loss of linebacker Roquan Smith and defensive end Robert Quinn at midseason was a bigger blow to the locker room than general manager Ryan Poles might have thought.
“It was pretty huge,” Jones said. “I don’t want to say too much about it. It was a pretty big loss — I’m not gonna lie.”
After a 3-4 start, the Bears were 0-10 after Quinn was traded to the Eagles in Week 8 and 0-9 after Smith was traded to the Ravens in Week 9 to finish 3-14.
“Obviously, the team hasn’t been the same since we traded Roquan and Rob — we haven’t won since then,” said Jones, who was named a team captain after the two defensive leaders were traded. “That speaks to how much of a leader Roquan and Rob were to our defense and everything. You can see the shift in production — sacks, TFLs [tackles for loss], pass break-ups and interceptions.
Indeed, the Bears were tied for seventh in the NFL in points allowed (18.9 per game) and 12th in yards allowed (330 per game) before Quinn and Smith were traded. The bottom fell out after that. In the final 11 weeks of the season after the Quinn trade, the Bears were last in the NFL in points allowed (33.1) and last in yards allowed (408.0) to drop to 32nd in points and 29th in yards for the season.
“It all took a toll,” Jones said. “But there’s no replacing that. I had brought up [in the exit interview] the fact that I would step in and fill some shoes, but Roquan is a household name here. He is Chicago. It was tough for me to step into that role, because it’s like, all I can do for the guys is listen and see how they feel and keep checking in on them. Stuff like that. But that [leadership void] played a big role as well.”
The big picture
Sunday’s loss to the Vikings could be running back David Montgomery’s last as a Bear. But that’s not why he was taking pictures with his family on the field before heading home Sunday.
“I was just taking a picture with my family, honestly,” said Montgomery, who will be a free agent after four seasons with the Bears. “I was just soaking it all in, reminiscing on everything — just being grateful for everything.”
Montgomery said he is hopeful he can re-sign with the Bears. But that’s not entirely up to him at this point.
“I just want to play football,” Montgomery said. “I would love to be here.”
Gipson ‘excited’ for 2023
Defensive end Trevis Gipson had a long season, with just three sacks and no forced fumbles (but a team-leading 11 pressures) after having seven sacks and five forced fumbles last season. But he won’t be gone for long.
“I’ll be back up here in early February. I’m excited, man,” Gipson said. “This year has been a struggle. People always ask me, ‘Are you sad? Are you mad? Are you depressed?’ I’m like, ‘Nah. I’m actually encouraged, because I could have ended up with double-digit [sacks] or close to it. I was just a tick away a bunch of times.
“I’m encouraged to get back in the lab, work on my change-of-direction — left right, polish up my pass rush and get ready for next season.”
