The Bears are trading edge rusher Robert Quinn to the Eagles, one year after he set a franchise record with 18 1⁄2 sacks, for a fourth-round pick in 2023.
“It made too much sense for what we’re trying to do,” general manager Ryan Poles said. “It’s going to allow us to continue to build a highly competitive roster.”
Linebacker Roquan Smith grew emotional Wednesday when asked about it.
“Sucks,” Smith said. “I have a great deal of respect for that guy. Damn. Crazy.”
Smith put his orange T-shirt over his head, said he needed a minute and eventually ended his press conference at Halas Hall.
The Bears had listened to offers for Quinn despite a disappointing season in which he’s totaled only one sack. The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, and the undefeated Eagles have Super Bowl aspirations.
Quinn set the Bears single-season sacks record last year. He seemed to be a prime candidate to be traded elsewhere, though, when new general manager Ryan Poles took over and began rebuilding the Bears. He traded Khalil Mack to the Chargers and let veterans Akiem Hicks, Allen Robinson and others leave via free agency.
Poles said in the offseason that he wanted to keep Quinn around. In retrospect, he likely would have gotten more in exchange for Quinn had he not decided to keep him into the season. Trading Mack brought back a second-round pick last year and a sixth-rounder in 2023.
A fourth-round pick in 2023 falls more in line with the Bears’ timeline than keeping a 32-year-old edge rusher.
Quinn did not participate in offseason activities, even those that were mandatory, but said he was simply focused on getting his body in shape.
Quinn told the Sun-Times last week that he didn’t want to go anywhere.
“I’m not walking into this building thinking about being somewhere else,” he said. “I don’t want to walk in being a fake, acting like I want to be here but really I don’t. I’m here and I’m as happy as I can be.”
Poles said Monday that the Bears would be willing to talk to other teams as the trade deadline approached, but stressed that any deal would have to make long-term sense for the Bears.
“I’ve always talked about this – it’s sustaining success for a long period of time,” he said. “It’s not the short fix all the time. Just blending that together is tough because it takes a lot of discipline to do. So that’s what we’re balancing.”
The Bears signed Quinn to a five-year, $70 million deal before the 2020 season. He was perhaps the league’s most disappointing signing of the year, recording only two sacks in 15 games. His record-setting season last year brought his value back up, making his contract — in which the Bears owed him $12.8 million in base salary this season — palatable. The Bears are expected to pay a considerable amount of the base salary owed him the rest of the season.
The Bears host the Eagles on Dec. 18.
“We will welcome him in,.” quarterback Jalen Hurts told Eagles reporters on Wednesday. “He’s done this. I can’t wait to meet him and get it rolling.”
