The best way for the Chicago Bears to take full advantage of Khalil Mack's generational talent is by giving him a pass-rushing teammate who can take some of the pressure off of him on a down-to-down basis. The failed experiment that was Leonard Floyd simply wasn't cutting it over the first two years of Mack's tenure in Chicago, and GM Ryan Pace made adding his 'Robin' a priority this offseason.
Enter Robert Quinn and his five-year, $70 million contract.
Quinn has enjoyed a high level of success as a sack artist in the NFL, including a remarkable 19-sack season in 2013. Injuries knocked him off course between 2015-18, but he returned to form last year with the Cowboys; he finished 2019 with 11.5 sacks.
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With the quarterback conversation flooding the Bears' offseason, Quinn's addition has flown somewhat under the radar. But in ESPN's recent ranking of the biggest position upgrades, Quinn ranked 12th.
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
Mack, by himself, was enough to give opposing quarterbacks nightmares in the days leading up to facing the Bears. Now, with Quinn chasing them from the opposite side, there will be many sleepless nights in quarterback country this season.