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Robert Quinn trade setting Bears up for something bigger?

By Sayre Bedinger

DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 23: Bradley Chubb #55 of the Denver Broncos stretches during warmups before the game against the New York Jets at Empower Field At Mile High on October 23, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 23: Bradley Chubb #55 of the Denver Broncos stretches during warmups before the game against the New York Jets at Empower Field At Mile High on October 23, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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The Chicago Bears are somewhat surprisingly 3-4 as we approach the midway point of the 2022 NFL season. Heading into Week 8, the Bears finally traded a player who has been on the trade block for quite some time, sending pass rusher Robert Quinn to the NFL’s lone unbeaten team, the Philadelphia Eagles. Chicago will take on the majority of Quinn’s salary this year, but getting Quinn’s contract off the books in 2023 and 2024 has provided Chicago with an obscene number on the 2023 NFL salary cap.

As of right now, they are projected to have more than $116 million in cap space. Thanks to the fact the NFL has a salary cap floor as well as the cap itself, the Bears are going to have to spend some money. The fact that they are 3-4 this season means they are in a unique position. The Bears traded Quinn but that doesn’t mean they are necessarily going to be sellers at the NFL trade deadline.

At least, not completely. General manager Ryan Poles has the ammunition to go out and make a bold move and be a surprise buyer, which he may be motivated to do as Justin Fields showed some of the best signs of progress we have seen from him since he was drafted last week against the Patriots.

Would Poles pull off a blockbuster deal for a player like Bradley Chubb of the Denver Broncos?

When Matt Eberflus was the defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts, the Colts had a top 10 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft when Chubb went fifth overall to the Denver Broncos just before Indianapolis took offensive guard Quenton Nelson. The Colts liked Chubb in the pre-draft process, but not enough to not trade down from their third overall spot, which they traded to the New York Jets that year.

Still, it stands to reason that if the Colts were high on Chubb in the pre-draft process then, Eberflus has — at one point or another — spent significant time dreaming up what Chubb could look like in his defense. Could he revive that now in Chicago? From the sounds of things, any trade involving Bradley Chubb would come with a contract extension, which the Bears can obviously afford. The absence of Quinn off the edge also could pave the way for Chubb to come in and pair up with Trevis Gipson.

Again, Chicago doesn’t strike as the typical NFL trade deadline “buyer” but there are reasons to believe they could be involved in a Bradley Chubb trade because he plays a premium position, he’s only 26, and the Bears’ NFL Draft capital has been replenished after last year’s Justin Fields trade. Matt Eberflus is a defensive-minded coach and if he’s given weapons on that side of the ball, well, we’ve seen what he can do. It’s what got him hired as an NFL head coach.

The Bears have a QB in place. They have picks. They certainly have cap space. After the Robert Quinn deal, don’t be shocked to see the Bears turn around and be buyers, especially if they make a fair offer for a player like Bradley Chubb, who might only cost them a couple of Day 2 picks.

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