The Chicago Bears knew coming into this offseason that simply being content with where they were wasn’t going to cut it. That is what led to their rather uneventful 2019 offseason after going 12-4. Then the team sagged to a disappointing 8-8. So GM Ryan Pace knew he had to be proactive in trying to upgrade the roster however possible. Was he able to succeed?
Mike Clay of ESPN evaluated all the major trades, free agency signings, and draft picks made in the previous three months by NFL teams. Then he ranked the 25 moves he felt were the biggest upgrades for their respective rosters. The big winners were the Colts getting DeForest Buckner, the Buccaneers getting Tom Brady, and the Cardinals getting DeAndre Hopkins.
However, the Bears also snuggled into a comfortable 12th place thanks to their signing of Robert Quinn to take over for Leonard Floyd.
“Quinn turns 30 this summer, but the veteran edge rusher is one of the league’s most underrated players. In his only season with Dallas, Quinn racked up 11.5 sacks (eighth among edge rushers), 72 pass-rush wins (third) and a 21.5% pass-rush win rate (first) in 2019. He has reached 8.5 sacks all five seasons in which he played at least 600 snaps. In Chicago, Quinn replaces Floyd opposite superstar Khalil Mack. Floyd impressed with 7.0 sacks as a rookie in 2016, but his totals have progressively dipped from 4.5 in 2017 to 4.0 in 2018 to 3.0 last season. He ranked ninth among edge rushers in snaps last season but struggled to only 27 pass-rush wins (51st) and a 0.8% sack rate (19th worst). Floyd is now with the Rams.”
Chicago Bears defense has a chance to be lethal in 2020
Clay projected Quinn to deliver a strong season with 10.5 sacks this year. One can only imagine what his impact could have on Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks. Both of whom will be healthy. Remember those two combined for 20 sacks just two years ago and that was with Floyd having just four on the opposite side. Teams won’t be able to freely single-block Quinn like they did Floyd all those years.
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It’s for this reason expectations are high for the 2020 defense. The Bears haven’t had a pass rush this talented since the end of the ’80s. If they can get competent play from the secondary, quarterbacks are not going to enjoy playing against them. This is why if the offense can lift themselves out of the mud, this team has a chance to compete in January.