The Chicago Bears have now lost three straight games which has opened the idea of the team becoming sellers at the trade deadline. A name that was floated before the season is Robert Quinn, and now that the team is struggling his name is coming right back up in these talks.
While the team may have listened to calls on Quinn, they decided that Khalil Mack would fetch them a better return. The Chicago Bears may have hoped that Quinn could improve his value this season, but so far it looks like it will be even harder to trade him right now than it would have been back in the summer.
3. Robert Quinn’s lack of production
This summer we wrote about the possibility of Robert Quinn falling off. Quinn has a weird trend where his best seasons typically come after down years, and his down years are usually after some of his best. So, after an 18.5 sack season he would obviously not be putting up those numbers, but just how much would he fall off?
The answer is that he has fallen off enough that is may cost the team when it comes to trading him. So far this season Quinn has just one sack, pushing him on pace for three. That is not going to pick up intrigue across the NFL.
His win rate is 11.5% when it was 21.9% last season, and his pass rush productivity is down from 14.9 to 6.6. These are huge drop-offs across the board, and there is not much for teams to poke at and say that they can get more.
Beyond that, Quinn has been horrible in run defense. He often is not gap-sound, and sells out to rush the passer on run downs. That would be great if he was winning as a pass rusher, but now he looks old, and confused on defense.
The Chicago Bears tried to wait until the trade deadline to get more desperation from teams, but they hurt themselves because the play of Robert Quinn is killing what they could get back.
2. Robert Quinn contract will hinder Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears will still owe Robert Quinn over $7 million for the rest of his contract. The team could do some negotiating, and take on about $5M of that, which could increase the draft compensation that they get for Robert Quinn.
Still, this does make it harder for them to trade Quinn. The team acquiring him will have to decide whether to eat the money or give Chicago a bit more for a struggling pass rusher. The other thing to consider with Quinn is his contract after this year.
While they are essentially funny money years, Quinn is locked down for two more years. While they is essentially a team option the acquiring team is taking on, it would be hard for Quinn to play to a level that sees him getting that money. So, the team acquiring Quinn will likely have to cut or restructure his contract after this season.
That becomes a lot of work for half of a season rental. Teams could certainly be interested, but when you add in that he will likely only play eight games or so for the team adding him, and that his contract is not favorable, the Chicago Bears are not going to get what they want for Robert Quinn.
1. Lack of demand across the NFL
Every team needs an edge rusher. However, the question becomes how bad do they need one. The big issue with trading halfway through a season is that a good portion of the teams has already played themselves out of contention.
Why would the Pittsburgh Steelers trade for Robert Quinn, even if he could help the loss of TJ Watt? So, the Chicago Bears have to find a contender, with cap space, and a need an edge rusher.
When we broke down the teams that should trade for Robert Quinn one thing that instantly stood out was how few would instantly start him.
The Ravens would mix him in with Jason Pierre-Paul, the Chiefs would rotate him with Frank Clark, George Karlaftis, and Carlos Dunlap. Teams such as the 49ers, and Eagles have a built-in rotation, so he would only be a platoon type of player.
These teams would love to add depth to the room, and they are all contenders, but no team is waiting for a starting egde rusher to drop in. In most cases, they want him as a third or fourth rusher or just another person in the four-man group.
These teams will definitely be calling the Chicago Bears for Robert Quinn. The interest will be there, but the question is how much will these teams pay when it comes down to it. The play of Robert Quinn, his contract, and the lack of demand across the league may have the Chicago Bears deciding to swallow their pride and take a low-end pick for Robert Quinn.