Chicago Bears to sign Robert Quinn: Grade, reaction and more
By John Buhler
The Chicago Bears made a few moves on Tuesday to reload their pass rush, including signing Robert Quinn to a massive five-year contract.
After having a strange first day of the legal tampering period on Monday to say the very least, the Chicago Bears make two smart moves on Tuesday morning. The Bears released former first-round pick Leonard Floyd after four underwhelming seasons on their defense. Chicago also went out and paid former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Robert Quinn a small fortune in his free agency.
The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report Quinn will be going to the Bears on a five-year deal worth $70 million, $30 million will be fully guaranteed. By paying a huge chunk of change for Quinn, the Bears have a two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher to play opposite of superstar Khalil Mack. Good luck to the quarterbacks that have to drop back on this 2020 Bears defense.
Quinn will be entering his age-30 season in 2020. Though he could theoretically fall off a cliff in the latter part of this Bears contract, Quinn has averaged nearly nine sacks a season in his nine years out of North Carolina. He has achieved double-digit sacks totals in four of his nine seasons, including an 11.5 mark in 2019 with the Cowboys, his first time breaking the threshold since 2014.
Here are the contract details, the national reaction and a grade for Quinn signing with the Bears.
Contract Details
As Rapoport and Pelissero reported, it will be a five-year contract for Quinn. He will make $70 million over the life of the contract with $30 million of the deal being fully guaranteed. Quinn will average $14 million annually on this new deal he signed with the Bears. Since he is still technically under contract with the Cowboys, this deal cannot be made official until the new league starts.
National Reaction
The #Bears are signing pass-rusher Robert Quinn to a 5-year, $70 million contract with $30 million fully guaranteed, agent Sean Kiernan from @SelectSports tells me and @TomPelissero. A new home for the former #Cowboys star after a huge year.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2020
Bears signing pass-rusher Robert Quinn to a five-year, $70M deal. (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/dEClYTTzxR
— NFL (@NFL) March 17, 2020
Robert Quinn to the #Bears, per @NFL.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 17, 2020
Quinn and Khalil Mack will cause some problems for opposing quarterbacks.
From @nflnetwork: When news breaks mid-segment... you gotta stop everything. Robert Quinn is headed to the #Bears, as Chicago's strength only gets stronger. pic.twitter.com/BHEblgwRuR
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2020
Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Roy Robertson-Harris and Robert Quinn. Have fun with that on third downs, opposing OLs.
— dan durkin (@djdurkin) March 17, 2020
This deal is met with near universal praise. The national media likes Quinn only entering his early 30s on this contract. He is coming off his best season in years with the 2019 Cowboys. Most importantly, he will star in a role that is perfectly suited for his skill set. Quinn is at his best when he is paired with a high-end pass rusher playing opposite of him. He certainly has this in Chicago.
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If Quinn can be close to the player he was early in his career with the then-St. Louis Rams playing opposite Chris Long or last season with DeMarcus Lawrence in Dallas, the Bears will have undoubtedly a top-five pass rush in football. Though the back-end of this deal could get rough, the Bears make a tremendous upgrade over Floyd by landing Quinn on a reasonable deal.