In light of Bears football being just 39 days away, I thought I’d talk about one of the most slept on off-season additions in Robert Quinn.
Back on March 17th, the Bears shocked the football world when they signed Quinn to a 5-year, $70 million contract with $30 million fully guaranteed. Heading into free agency, everyone assumed Ryan Pace’s first acquisition would be at the o-line, tight-end, or even quarterback position. So replacing Leonard Floyd with Robert Quinn was certainly a move that not a lot of people (myself included) saw coming. However, the Bears desperately needed to add someone who could take some pressure off of Khalil Mack. Bringing in Quinn did just that and more. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the chart below that compares Leonard Floyd’s last two seasons to Robert Quinn’s 2019 campaign.
| Name | Season(s) | Games | Sacks | TFL | QB Hits | QB Pressures |
| Leonard Floyd | 2018-19 | 32 | 7 | 12 | 23 | 49 |
| Robert Quinn | 2019 | 14 | 11.5 | 13 | 22 | 35 |
As far as pass-rushers go, Floyd doesn’t even compare to the level that Quinn is on right now. In 18 fewer games, Quinn’s production still blows Floyd out of the water. So the Bears replacing Floyd with Quinn isn’t something to take lightly. With that being said, it leads me to my next question.
Why doesn’t the addition of Robert Quinn get more attention?
The last few months in the world have been nothing short of chaotic. But I was able to narrow it down to a few reasons as to why the Bear’s most expensive off-season addition is so easily looked over.
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- The QB Competition between Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky.
- Robert Quinn is a relatively quiet guy. He simply goes about his business and that’s it. Very Tim Duncan-esque as far as how he carries himself.
- Most of the media has already written this Bears team off. Which is fine. Because the last time the Bears were slept on they went 12-4. Let them sleep.
So let me say this. If the Bears can get just average QB play this season, this team will make some noise. The defense is that good. Perhaps even better than 2018 if everyone can stay healthy. Fingers crossed.