6 things to know about new Eagles defensive end Robert Quinn

The Philadelphia Eagles decided to boost their pass rush, which hasn’t been too shabby to begin with, coming out of the bye by trading for Robert Quinn.

In order to learn more about Philly’s new defensive end, I thought it’d benefit Bleeding Green Nation readers to get some insider insight on him. And so I contacted Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. from Windy City Gridiron. Here’s what the representative from SB Nation’s Chicago Bears blog had to say.

1 - How would you recap Quinn’s time with Chicago?

In 2020 he was injured most of the season with drop foot, so he wasn’t able to get home for the sacks, but he powered through to appear in 15 games. Last year he was phenomenal with 18.5 sacks, but this year he’s dropped off a bit. He’s an old-school type of guy and that came through in all his pressers.

2 - How would you grade this trade from the Bears’ perspective?

I love it, so I’m going with an A. The Bears are in clear rebuild mode, so getting a 4th round pick for a 32-year-old pass rusher is a nice move, especially since they have 2 young defensive ends that are emerging and will benefit from the increase in playing time.

3 - To what extent can Robert Quinn’s lack of production this year be explained by an increased double team rate following Khalil Mack’s departure?

That’s part of it for sure. He’s the top edge so teams accounted for him more, plus the Bears did run into a string of very good left tackles in the early part of the season, and Quinn has been almost exclusive on the right side of Chicago’s defense.

4 - What are his strengths?

His first step quickness and bend are still elite, and his cross-chop move has been money for him during his career.

5 - What are his weaknesses?

He’s not the biggest guy, so he can get overwhelmed by size and strength at times. He’s not the stoutest in setting the edge either.

6 - Anything to know about him off the field? Roquan Smith was clearly sad about the Bears trading him.

He’s a good teammate, he was voted a team captain, and he never had any off-field issues in Chicago. The young defensive ends on the Bears all spoke highly about him as a mentor, and rookie Dominique Robinson learned Quinn’s cross-chop move from him. I thought he was refreshing in his press conferences with his honesty and candor. The Eagles are getting a player with plenty in the tank, and if he’s used situationally as a pass rusher he should really thrive.

BLG’s take: I can’t give the Quinn trade an A+. This isn’t as simple as the Eagles acquiring a player who had 18.5 sacks last year. They also acquired a player who only had two sacks in 2020 and one in seven games this season. That being said, there’s reason to believe Quinn can turn it on in Philly. He probably won’t be double-teamed as much here as he was in Chicago. Unless opponents want to keep doing that to him and open up more one-on-one opportunities for his new teammates. Quinn could also be more effective playing in a rotation ... and for an Eagles team that is capable of building leads to create pass rushing snaps for him to capitalize on. The risk in this deal is ultimately minimal. Moving what is likely to be a late fourth-round pick to add more pass rush help is a good call. Especially when the Bears are paying most of his remaining salary this season. The worst case scenario is that Quinn ends up being what Ryan Kerrigan was last year (outside of his one randomly good game in the playoffs); a total non-factor. That would be unfortunate but hardly crushing. And the Eagles can always cut him after this season without being on the hook for his money. I’ll give it a B+.

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