NEWSLETTER
Robert Quinn’s 2020 season was a stinker. There’s no sugar-coating it. However, I don’t want to spend too much time dwelling on the past. I’m ready to move forward with a clean slate for last year’s big-ticket free agent addition.
Unfortunately, Quinn’s already off to a bit of a slow start in 2021:
Matt Nagy says Robert Quinn’s back injury is the same one he dealt with in June that kept him out of minicamp. Says he’s not worried about. Quinn will be limited today. #Bears
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) July 28, 2021
Zack Pearson tweets that the back injury that kept Quinn out of minicamp in June made him limited in today’s first training camp practice. Sigh. Nothing like a lingering back injury to take the wind out of you sails early. And while Quinn says he isn’t worried about it, I’ll be plenty worried for the both of us. Remember, Quinn is coming off a season in which injuries were nagging him from the outset. And now I’m curious if last year’s troublesome foot issues were a contributing factors to this injury. It’s also worth pointing out that Quinn was on the injury report and sat out Week 1 last year because of an ankle problem. The body is a complicated thing, and favoring one body part because of an injury can throw off so many other things. Hence, I have my concerns — even if Quinn doesn’t share the same sentiment.
No matter how you slice it, Quinn’s health is one of the most important stories to follow this season. Adding Quinn last offseason was a big deal. There isn’t a soul who didn’t think putting a proven pass-rusher opposite of Khalil Mack would open things up for the Bears defense. Instead, Quinn was never operating at full strength. Now, here we are in Year 2 and we’re already putting up caution flags.
Sure, it’s early, and there is plenty of time for Quinn to get healthy for Week 1. But back injuries don’t tend to become less problematic as players get older. Chicago’s training staff needs to monitor this situation like a hawk.
