NEWSLETTER
I have grown to expect the unexpected from Bears GM Ryan Pace.
Because even the moves that make sense come out of nowhere. Tuesday’s transactions were a snap-shot of Pace’s unpredictable ways. The Bears are signing Robert Quinn, an edge defender expected to improve the defense’s pass-rushing ability. In a corresponding move, the team parted ways with Leonard Floyd, whose pass-rush production left something to be desired.
Chicago wasn’t expected to throw big money at a standout defender this offseason. Not when its offense spiraled to a place among the bottom feeders. But given a chance to make an impact upgrade, Pace rolled the dice. And based on the information at our disposal, Quinn figures to be a significant upgrade from Floyd when it comes to getting to the quarterback.
Observe:
update pic.twitter.com/aYftEJHzva
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) March 17, 2020
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this graphic is basically worth $30 million in guarantees on a contract that could be worth as much as $70 million over five years.
The reason this series of moves had to be made in the first place was because Floyd never generated the push as a pass-rusher that was expected. Floyd has had decreasing sack numbers in each of the last three years. Going from seven in 12 games as a rookie in 2016 to 4.5 in 10 games as a second-year player, to four (all in the second half of the season) in Year 3, and finally just three (two of which came in Week 1 against the Packers) in what turned out to be his final year in Chicago.
Now, behold what Quinn did as a pass-rusher in 2019:
New Bears edge rusher Robert Quinn generated pressure on 14.0% of pass rushes last season, 2nd-highest in the NFL behind only Za'Darius Smith (14.6%).
Quinn's average pass rush get-off time (0.80 seconds) ranked 5th among edge rushers with at least 300 pass rushes in 2019. https://t.co/ZRJlqon8Nn pic.twitter.com/uNnOn4EURe
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 17, 2020
Quinn put together a monster year in what turned out to be his only season in Dallas. He played 14 games, came up with 11.5 sacks, 13 tackles-for-loss, and 22 quarterback hits. To put that in perspective, he would’ve led the Bears in all three categories last season. Beyond the raw numbers, Quinn was a beast, too. NFL’s Next Gen stats have Quinn owning an elite get-off time after the snap and posting a 14 percent QB Pressure Rate in 2019, which was the second best in football behind 2019 Packers Pro Bowler Za’Darius Smith. Quinn also finished with 49 QB pressures, which is the same amount as soon-to-be teammate Khalil Mack. That he did it in on 116 fewer pass-rush snaps is impressive.
Quinn’s presence will force offensive coaches to make tough decisions on how to attack the Bears defense. Last year, Khalil Mack garnered a ton of extra attention. It wasn’t the only reason his sack and pressure totals were down after a huge 2018, but it shouldn’t be ignored. The most unfortunate part of Mack taking on extra blockers was that Floyd was unable to take advantage of the constant double-teams to bring down the quarterback.
Some inside-football schematic reasoning behind the move, via Hub Arkush of Pro Football Weekly:
Good roster moves all inter-connected. Trevathan wasn't about Kwiatkoski. Because Trevathan & Roquan Smith both 4-down LB's Bears didn't need Floyd in coverage and could swap him out for Robert Quinn's pass rush while probably saving a couple mil vs. cap this year. Smart moves.
— Hub Arkush (@Hub_Arkush) March 17, 2020
Basically, the Bears are swapping a hand-in-the-dirt pure pass-rusher for a player who struggled in that role, but could cover a bit. And while the Bears will lose some coverage abilities from the EDGE spot, they’re maintaining top-end coverage skills from both inside linebackers as they retained Danny Trevathan to team with Roquan Smith. As Arkush alludes to in the tweet embedded above, smart roster moves are connected.
Set your expectations accordingly, because we’re not going to see Quinn in coverage as often as we saw Floyd (if at all).
2019 Coverage Snaps
Leonard Floyd: 126
Khalil Mack: 57
Isaiah Irving: 27
Aaron Lynch: 20Robert Quinn: 2#Bears
— PFF CHI Bears (@PFF_Bears) March 17, 2020
This is the type of stuff Quinn can do to opposing passers:
Robert Quinn (@RQuinn94)@ChicagoBears fans…you are going to love this consummate pro. 80.5 career sacks & plays tough vs the run game. Locker room just got better! @NFLBrawl @TheBearsBrawl #BrawlNetwork #Bears #Man pic.twitter.com/xPp5FyAUCz
— Bridge (@BridgesFootball) March 17, 2020
Another one…
Robert Quinn gets his 2nd sack of #DALvsNYJ #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/a29rKM0tkh— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 13, 2019
This is Robert Quinn’s house now @RQuinn94 pic.twitter.com/iHpKQsmZLK
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) September 30, 2019
Oh, and the sack celebrations are pretty dope:
This is Robert Quinn’s house now @RQuinn94 pic.twitter.com/iHpKQsmZLK
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) September 30, 2019
Robert Quinn’s with the sack and the snake celly @RQuinn94 pic.twitter.com/WBd4V9McSD
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 21, 2019
