Robert Quinn, shocked by trade, gets warm reception from Eagles – NBC10 Philadelphia

After the shock of the trade, Quinn receives a warm welcome from his Eagles teammates originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Robert Quinn played 32 snaps in the Bears’ 33-14 win over the Patriots on Monday night. He was there on Wednesday traded to the Eagles.. He arrived in Philadelphia for a physical on Thursday and took part in his first practice almost immediately.

So after a few tense days, none of it seemed clear as Quinn sat in front of a dozen reporters trying to find the words to explain it all.

How did he react to the exchange?

“Shock,” Quinn said. “Honestly, I’ve been telling everyone that I’m still trying to fully understand what happened, the transition.

“Also, happy. I told everyone I wanted to come in, do my part. They went round and round before I got here. I don’t want to spoil anything. Just try to add whatever I can to make this team better and ready to stick around.”

Quinn, 32, has been traded before, but never midseason. And even though the Bears are struggling this year and many people thought Quinn might move, he was still very surprised when it happened just under a week before the deadline.

Quinn explained Thursday that he has two main goals on his to-do list when he joins the 6-0 Eagles:

1. Study his new textbook

2. Meet his new teammates

Neither will be particularly easy with just days to go before what could be his Eagles debut against the Steelers on Sunday. At least Quinn played in a defensive scheme similar to the one Jonathan Gannon uses, but the terminology can confuse him. And Quinn said it’s important for him to know his teammates beyond their numbers, but admitted he’s not the best at remembering names.

But there’s no doubt that Quinn’s teammates already know all about him. His reputation preceded him.

Quinn’s 102 career sacks and his impressive total of 18-and-a-half last season, along with three Pro Bowl appearances, are a big part of that. But many of his new teammates know about Quinn through mutual friend Chris Long, who was with Quinn on the Rams before eventually landing in Philly in 2017.

“Great addition, terrible pickup,” said Hassan Reddick, who leads the Eagles with 4 1/2 sacks this season. “I don’t know Robert personally, now we will definitely get to know him. But I remember he had a crazy year last year. … I’m happy he’s here. The more help we get, the more people can help us keep building towards our goal.”

The Eagles traded a 2023 fourth-round pick to acquire Quinn, and the bottom line is that the Bears are picking up most of the salary remaining on Quinn’s contract this season. So it’s a low-risk, potentially high-reward trade.

While he was a starter and star in Chicago, Quinn will be a rotational player with the Eagles, joining a defensive line that includes Reddick, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Jordan Davis and Milton Williams.

“Man, we were already pretty loaded, so they loaded us up even more,” Williams said. “Just come in, do our job and get a quarterback.”

Expect Pott and Quinn to play guard on the right and Redick and Graham on the left. This is a strong group of advanced players.

One of the first players to greet Quinn upon his arrival in the locker room Thursday was Graham, the elder statesman of the locker room and the longest tenured professional athlete in the city of Philadelphia. Quinn said it was a warm welcome from the “OG” in the locker room and that helped him feel at home a lot.

Eagles seem to have a knack for welcoming newcomers. They’ve certainly had some practice since the additions of Redick, James Bradbury, Kyzier White, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, AJ Brown and others over the past few months.

“It’s cool. It gives you a spark when you look at it that way,” Graham said. “I feel like that’s somebody that can definitely help us. We lost [Derek Barnett] this year and we tried to fill that void. If I’m there, he and I will probably be together. That’s where it’s cool. What I’m going to do is make sure that every repetition counts. That’s really what it’s about. Just let him get comfortable and get ready to go.”

Barnett suffered a torn ACL in Week 1. Since then, the Eagles have tried to give some extra snaps to Patrick Johnson and Taran Jackson, but decided they could use another player like Quinn. With his presence, it will require some sacrifice from everyone in this rotation.

Because there are limited snaps and the Eagles now have a lot of good players to fill out that rotation. The idea is to keep those guys on the line rotating, staying fresh and giving 100 percent every snap.

“We’re all here for one common goal,” Williams said. “There are people in this room who understand that. We will do everything possible to win.”

The idea behind the rotation is that once the Eagles get going in the second half of the game, their pass rush rotation will have fresher legs against worn-out offensive tackles. This plan works even better when the Eagles build up leads and force their opponents into obvious passing situations. Then they can hunt.

The Eagles have been outscored by 14 points in all six of their wins this season. On Thursday, Quinn was asked what it’s like to play in that rotation with those types of anchors.

“I guess I’m going to find out,” Quinn said. “I haven’t had that many so I guess I’m going to find out.”

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