Bears Deal Quinn To Eagles, Clear Cap Room For Free Agency

Robert Quinn was in many ways a fish out of water on the rebuilding Bears. His age and his salary didn’t fit on a team that was looking for a fresh start under new management.

Quinn had led the NFL in sacks a year ago, improving his stock as a potential trade asset for first-year general manager Ryan Poles. But it took awhile for that deal to come to fruition. Quinn is back into a more fitting context after being traded to the fast-starting Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday.

The Bears will receive a fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft, as well as more room for Poles to be extremely active in free agency next spring. Early reports on the trade indicate the Bears will pay most of Quinn’s remaining salary this season, as the Denver Broncos did in the deal that sent Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams at the deadline last season.

Quinn replaces the injured Derek Barnett in a strong defense in Philadelphia.

Having traded Khalil Mack while declining to extend linebacker Roquan Smith and running back David Montgomery, Poles quietly positioned himself to be a force in the upcoming round of free agency.

Quinn, 32, is in the third year of the $70-million deal he signed with the Bears in 2020. His contract isn’t guaranteed beyond this season, however.

“It just made too much sense in what we are trying to do here in building a championship team,” Poles told reporters at Halas Hall.

The Bears went into the week with $106.2 million in 2023 cap space, per Spotrac, and that amount should increase to almost $125 million without Quinn. No other team projects to have more than $60 million available in cap room.

The Bears are also well positioned for the upcoming draft. The fourth-rounder from Philadelphia gives Poles nine picks, including at least one in all seven rounds. He is known for trading down in the draft, adding picks during the draft.

Quinn is a three-time All-Pro but is going to his sixth team. Pro Football Focus graded him out as one of the top-10 edge defenders in two of his first five seasons but he has ranked outside the top 50 in four of the last seven seasons.

Quinn has only one sack in seven games after finishing with 18 1/2 last season. He’s got fewer sacks and tackles this season than three of the Bears’ other edge rushers.

Trevis Gipson, a fifth-round pick in 2020, figures to move into the lineup opposite Al-Quadin Muhammad, a free agent who played for head coach Matt Eberflus in Indianapolis. Dominique Robinson, a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft, will also get more responsibility.