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One team keeps popping up as an option to trade for Chicago Bears Pro Bowl pass rusher Robert Quinn: the Kansas City Chiefs.
USA Today and The Draft Network both named the Chiefs a top contender to add Quinn in June, and analyst Matt Verderame noted on July 6 via Twitter that Quinn “makes a ton of sense for Kansas City.”
Rumors that Quinn wants out of Chicago have been flying like frisbees in a crowded park since the veteran elected not to show up for the team’s mandatory veteran minicamp, which took place June 14-16. Quinn may still wind up playing for Chicago because, frankly, his trade market doesn’t appear to be very hot right now.
Despite the apparent lack of teams interested in Quinn, Kansas City and Chicago could still put together a trade that would hugely benefit both teams, one analyst thinks.
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Analyst: K.C. Would Have Conference’s Top Pass Rush
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report compiled a small list of potential trades that could “transform the league,” and he included a Bears-Chiefs trade among them.
In Knox’s trade proposal, the Bears would get a 2023 second-round pick in addition to a 2023 fourth-round pick in exchange for Quinn, who finished second in the NFL last season with 18.5 sacks. If the Bears could get that kind of draft capital in exchange for the veteran, they should do it in a heartbeat — but, again, if there were teams chomping at the bit to add Quinn, he likely would’ve been traded already.
Still, Knox wrote that Kansas City would be the one team willing to pay Quinn’s base salary of $12.8 million in order to bulk up a pass rush that could use one more playmaker.
“Alongside Frank Clark, Chris Jones and rookie first-round pick George Karlaftis, Quinn could give Kansas City arguably the conference’s top pass rush,” Knox wrote on July 4.
“The Chiefs, who have $11 million in cap space, would have to clear some room to absorb Quinn’s salary. This could be done by signing offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to a contract extension before the July 15 franchise-tag deadline,” he noted, adding: “In this hypothetical deal, Kansas City would get another proven playmaker for its front seven, while Chicago would get future draft chips with which to aid its ongoing rebuild.”
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Bears Would Likely Take Anything for Quinn at This Point
If the Chiefs’ general manager, Brett Veach, would be willing to give Chicago picks in Rounds 2 and 4 of the 2023 draft in exchange for Quinn, it would be a no-brainer for Bears GM Ryan Poles, who is familiar with Veach after working with him in Kansas City from 2013-2021. That just doesn’t seem like reality, however.
The more realistic scenario has a contending team offering a fourth-round, maybe even a third-round, pick for Quinn if that contender suffers a key injury before the regular season rolls around. Injuries inevitably happen every year during training camp, and if a pass rusher on a good team goes down, Quinn, who likely wants to play for a contender, would be the most obvious trade candidate.
It’ll be interesting to see if Quinn shows up for training camp, which begins for veterans on July 26. If he does, it will be business as usual for the Bears. If he doesn’t, the trade rumors will keep on flying.
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