With the championship window open the Eagles made a major move on Wednesday, acquiring 32-year-old edge rusher Robert Quinn for a fourth-round pick.
Quinn has been having a down season in Chicago with just one sack in seven games while playing in 68% of the defensive snaps but the veteran is less than one year removed from an 18 1/2-sack season in 2021 when he earned second-team All-Pro recognition and made his third-career Pro Bowl.
In Philadelphia, Quinn is expected to fit on with what has been a very effective pass-rushing trio to date with Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham. The Eagles. However, wanted a four-man rotation with Derek Barnett penciled in the final slot but the 2017 first-round pick suffered a torn ACL in the season-opening win over Detroit.
In Barnett’s absence, Jonathan Gannon has been using second-year players Patrick Johnson and/or Tarron Jackson in limited roles.
Quinn technically has three years left on his current contract with salaries of $12.8 million this year, $13.9 million in 2023, and $12.9 million in 2024, but the North Carolina product has no guaranteed money left on his contract and the Bears are believed to be footing most of the bill for Quinn to finish out the season in Philadelphia.
That gives Roseman plenty of room to either restructure Quinn moving forward if he plays well or simply move on.
A 12-year veteran, Quinn was originally the No. 14 overall pick of the then-St. Louis Rams in 2011 and has played for the Rams, Dolphins, Cowboys, and Bears in his career, generating 102 career sacks and 32 forced fumbles. He had a 19.0-sack season with the Rams in 2013, along with the 18.5 monster campaigns he put up with the Bears in 2021.
He has not been effective this season, grading out at No. 109 of 112 edge rushers by Pro Football Focus over 305 snaps. The Eagles could be banking on a return to a similar defensive scheme Quinn played in with Chicago in 2021. With new coach Matt Eberflus, the Bears changed their defensive system this season.
