CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 05: Mitchell Trubisky #10 of the Chicago Bears breaks away from Robert Quinn #58 of the Dallas Cowboys as he looks for a receiver at Soldier Field on December 05, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Cowboys 31-24. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
The Chicago Bears made a splash move on Tuesday morning signing pass rusher Robert Quinn in free agency.
After much speculation about what the Chicago Bears would do to beef up the pass rush, the team made a major move on Tuesday morning when they signed veteran pass rusher Robert Quinn. Just moments after this, multiple reports came out that the Bears were moving on from 2016 first-round pick Leonard Floyd.
In a move that has people scratching their heads, many are wondering, why would the Bears would spend big money at outside linebacker due to the presence of Khalil Mack? Well, let’s break it all down.
First, Quinn will be 30 years old during the 2020 season but he’s been in the NFL since 2016. Compare this to Floyd who was drafted in 2016 but will be 28 years old before the 2020 regular season begins.
Age is one factor but let’s also look at production. In 2019, Quinn had 11.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, and 22 quarterback hits. Compare this to Floyd who had 11.5 sacks between from 2017 until 2019. Floyd is also a former top-ten draft pick. If you’re a pass rusher who’s drafted in the top-ten, you should have double-digit sacks each year.
Third, the Bears signed Quinn and released Floyd because they wanted someone who could play opposite Khalil Mack and get after the quarterback. Floyd had trouble winning one-on-one’s in 2019 and the Bears weren’t about to pay him $13.2 million dollars in 2020 to be a mediocre edge rusher again.
The Bears are making this move because the team is also in win-now mode. They released Floyd and then signed Quinn in an effort to make the defense even better. Rather than just cut ties with Floyd and create another major hole that they would have needed to fill, they cut Floyd and signed Quinn to also take pressure off of guys like Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks.
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Overall, this is a signing that the Bears made to give the defense some much needed juice. If general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy really wanted to, they could have figured out a way to lower Floyd’s cap hit and sign him to an extension. However, they opted to go with a player who was more proven than Floyd.
As the Bears offseason continues, there’s going to be a lot to monitor. However, Quinn is a signing that has the fanbase split. Signing Quinn is also the second biggest move that the Bears will make this offseason, right behind whatever the Bears do at quarterback.
