The Philadelphia Eagles are the last undefeated team remaining in the NFL at 6-0. They have worked themselves into the conversation as being Super Bowl contenders in the NFC as they have a very strong roster overall. But, they are not resting on their laurels as they fired the first significant salvo ahead of the 2022 NFL trade deadline.
The Eagles have acquired pass rusher Robert Quinn from the Chicago Bears. It is looking like a steal for Philadelphia as well, as they are sending only a fourth-round pick to the Bears in exchange for the veteran pass rusher.
The Bears, who are in a rebuild, started the process of trading away veterans in the offseason. Khalil Mack was the first two to go, and now they have moved on from Quinn, who registered 18.5 sacks for them last season.
A big reason that Quinn likely went for only a fourth-round pick was his contract. He has a cap hit of $18.2 million in 2023 and $17.23 million in 2024. That is a steep price for a rebuilding team to pay, but for a team looking to contend this season, such as the Eagles, it is a price certainly worth paying.
Philadelphia didn’t necessarily need a pass rusher as they have been getting after the quarterback a lot this season. But, in this day and age, you can never have too many pass rushers. The Los Angeles Rams were in a similar position last year when they acquired Von Miller from the Denver Broncos and look how that turned out for them.
The Eagles’ defense was already tied for 10th in the NFL with 17 sacks on the season, but keep in mind, they already had their bye week. This is a top-10 pass rush and they get even more dangerous with Quinn in the mix.
There are already five players on the Eagles with multiple sacks on the season, led by Hassan Reddick with 4.5. Adding another bonafide pass rusher along with him and Josh Sweat will make the Eagles that much tougher to game plan again.
Having Quinn on the roster will only make the jobs of Darius Slay and James Bradberry that much easier as well. The dynamic cornerback duo should get even more help in the secondary from scheme coverages as the Eagles should be able to get home pretty consistently with a four-man pass rush.
This was a team already trending in the right direction that Quinn should only help put over the top.
