Eagles acquire Pro Bowl pass rusher Robert Quinn in trade with the Bears

The Eagles are loading up for a potential stretch run.

On the team’s first full day back from the bye week, the Eagles traded for 32-year-old edge rusher Robert Quinn, sending a fourth-round pick to the Chicago Bears in exchange for the former All-Pro, according to an NFL source confirming several media reports.

Quinn had 18½ sacks in 2021, earning second-team All-Pro honors and his third career Pro Bowl nod. He has one sack this season while playing 68% of the Bears’ defensive snaps. He figures to slot in as a rotational edge rusher with the Eagles, who lost defensive end Derek Barnett for the year after the former first-round pick tore his ACL in the season opener.

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In Barnett’s absence, the team has used young edge rushers Patrick Johnson and Tarron Jackson behind starters Josh Sweat and Haason Reddick and veteran Brandon Graham. The Eagles typically have valued having veteran depth pieces behind their starters on the edge with players like Chris Long and Ryan Kerrigan filling that role in recent years. Having Quinn and Graham on the back end of the rotation fits that mold.

Quinn’s addition signals the 6-0 Eagles’ willingness to give up future assets to improve their chances at a prolonged playoff run this season. General manager Howie Roseman has made splashy deals like this in the past when the Eagles were in win-now mode, most notably trading for veteran running back Jay Ajayi in 2017 and wide receiver Golden Tate in 2018. The former helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl; the latter never fully acclimated to his new situation.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said Quinn should help the team as the season progresses.

“He has a history of being a great defensive end,” Hurts said. “I think it will help us out in a number of ways. It adds a lot of depth. I’m excited to meet him.

“The weather changes, but we don’t in terms of our goals and what we want to accomplish,” Hurts added. “We have a very tight-knit group, a very family-oriented group. I think we’ll welcome him in. He has a lot of experience, like I said. He’s done this.”

Quinn is due $12.8 million this year, $13.9 million in 2023, and $12.9 million in 2024, but the Bears will foot the majority of his remaining salary this season, according to a Sports Illustrated report. He has no guaranteed money left on his contract. This means the Eagles could release the veteran after the season without taking on any dead money. If they want to keep him through next season, both sides could justify a restructuring that gives Quinn more guaranteed money in exchange for salary-cap flexibility.

The 12-year veteran, who also has played for the Rams, Dolphins, and Cowboys, has been up-and-down in terms of production the last few years. He had just two sacks and six quarterback hits in 2020 before his impressive 2021 season. The year before, he had 11½ sacks and 20 quarterback hits. The last time he managed consecutive seasons with double-digit sacks was 2012-14. For his career, Quinn has amassed 102 sacks, 176 quarterback hits, and 33 forced fumbles in 163 games. His 102 sacks are tied for 55th on the all-time list.

Roseman has added a handful of impact players via trade dating back to the offseason. Star wide receiver A.J. Brown was the most notable addition, but the general manager also traded for safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson just before the start of the regular season and moved up for rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis on draft night.

The defense has been successful at incorporating the new faces, which include free-agent signees such as Reddick, cornerback James Bradberry, and linebacker Kyzir White, so far this season. The Eagles are tied with Baltimore with a league-best 14 takeaways, despite having played one fewer game than the Ravens, and are ranked fourth in defensive efficiency by Football Outsiders.

Even before the trade was reported, Graham said the talent on the Eagles defense was nothing short of divine.

“I prayed for a team like this,” the veteran lineman said. “I ain’t going to lie. ... We’re playing together, we’re undefeated, we’re trying to do something different and special in Philly.”

As a result of all the trading, the Eagles now have six picks in the 2022 NFL draft, although two of them are first-rounders. They possess the New Orleans Saints’ first-round pick as well as their own in the first, second, and third rounds. On Day 3, they have two seventh-round picks, one courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings.

Jeff McLane contributed to this article.