Getty Inside linebacker Roquan Smith has the support of teammate Robert Quinn.
Howie Roseman is leaving no doubt that the Philadelphia Eagles are all-in for 2022.
The Eagles pulled off a blockbuster trade, ahead of the November 1 NFL trade deadline, acquiring All-Pro EDGE rusher Robert Quinn in a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Bears.
Quinn, 32, has produced 1.0 sack and 8 total tackles through the Bears’ first seven games before being dealt to the Eagles for a fourth-round draft pick. Scouts and executives across the league believe he’ll take the Eagles’ defense to new heights.
“If the Eagles get up two scores, good luck with that,” an AFC scout told Heavy just moments after the trade. “Because that Philly pass-rush is coming in absolute waves.”
Robert Quinn’s Fit in Philly, Recent Production With Bears
The Eagles’ defensive line has plenty of talent up front; as Brandon Graham is playing some of the more dominant football of his career, already producing 3.0 sacks, Josh Sweat has added 2.5, and along the interior, Fletcher Cox and Jordan Hargrave have combined for 4.0 more.
In Philadelphia, Quinn won’t need to be the focal point of coordinator Jonathan Gannon’s rush.
“Quinn is a really good fit there,” an NFC South personnel executive told Heavy. He won’t take as many snaps, won’t need to be a full-time player, and that will keep him fresh. Especially late in games.”
Through the first seven games of the 2022 campaign, Quinn has 14 total pressures en route to a 43.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, but has garnered a 56.9 pass-rush mark. The expectation is that Quinn will be used almost exclusively on pass-rush situations.
Already a two-time Pro Bowler, Quinn is coming off a second-team All-Pro selection with the Chicago Bears in 2021, dropping into a defense that has the potential to be the backbone of a Super Bowl run could give Quinn the potential to push for a third Pro Bowl selection, this season.
Throughout the course of his career, Quinn has already produced 102.0 sacks, and had been one of the Bears’ captains prior to the trade. In addition to his on-field production, where Gannon can deploy him in key pass-rushing spots, Quinn’s veteran leadership could prove vital during the stretch run and the postseason.
Eagles GM Howie Roseman Protects Optionality
Even after trading for Quinn, in an effort to win now, Roseman protected the Eagles’ most valuable assets to continue building for the future and sustained success.
The Eagles still have a pair of first-round picks in the 2023 NFL draft, which could be used either to acquire a playmaker ahead of next week’s NFL trade deadline, packaged to move up for the top prospect the team covets most during the draft, or simply to add to the young nucleus Roseman has already built.
There is no doubt now that Roseman is pushing all of the chips to the middle of the table, this season, not aiming to waste the opportunity as the prohibitive favorite in the NFC. But, more importantly, Roseman hasn’t mortgaged the Eagles’ future in an effort to win now.
Sunday, Quinn and the Eagles return from the bye week Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time at Lincoln Financial Field.