Here’s a question. Is the national media not paying enough respect to the Chicago Bears signing Robert Quinn? It certainly feels that way. This is a guy who had 11.5 sacks last season. He is one of the best pass rushers of his generation. Now he is about to join a front that includes Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks. Yet people are talking about the Bears defense as it will be exactly like it was last season.
Huh?
Well at least one NFL writer painted a proper picture of what GM Ryan Pace has put together. Nick Shook of Around The NFL posted his list of the 10 best pass disruptors in the league. These are players who had the best total number of sacks, hurries, and QB hits divided by the number of total rushes. Quinn was #3 overall. Teaming him with Mack isn’t ideal for opposing QBs.
“Quinn enjoyed great success with the Cowboys while operating opposite DeMarcus Lawrence, pressuring the QB on 14 percent of pass rushes, the third-best rate in the NFL (minimum 250 pass rushes) in 2019. His ability to bend while maintaining speed and power around the edge can be a nightmare for opposing tackles, and he’ll likely enjoy similar success as part of another excellent tandem in Chicago in 2020. Quinn registered 49 QB pressures in 2019, which is the same number his new Bears teammate Khalil Mack posted, but Quinn did it on 116 fewer pass rushes. Watch out for that duo.”
Robert Quinn and Mack can be together for five seasons
The craziest part of this is it isn’t just a one-year thing as many of these star tandems tend to be these days. The Bears aren’t getting Quinn as a one-year rental. He’s on a five-year contract. Both he and Mack are under their control through the 2024 season. That’s five possible seasons they can be together. If both are able to stay healthy for most of that run, there’s no telling how much devastation they can create during that span.
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Now the odds of that happening are rare in today’s NFL. That said, it’s not crazy to think the Bears can get three highly productive seasons out of that pair, extending the life span of their defense. Hopefully long enough for them to finally find some stability at the quarterback position. That is a big reason the Bears spent the money to make it happen.