Robert Quinn - Pro Football Rumors

Bears Restructure Robert Quinn’s Deal

October 15th, 2021 at 9:24am CST by Zachary Links

The Bears have restructured Robert Quinn’s contract (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The edge rusher will see a portion of his base salary converted into a signing bonus, creating an additional $3.5MM in cap room.

[RELATED: Bears Place Ifedi On IR]

Quinn came to the Bears in 2020 via free agency, inking a five-year, $70MM deal to help revamp their pass rush. He was the comeback kid in 2019, notching 11.5 sacks for the Cowboys. It was a throwback to his stellar work with the Rams, which included a Pro Bowl appearance in 2014.

Last year, Quinn totaled just two sacks while playing mostly from the right outside linebacker spot. This year it’s a different story — he’s got 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble through five games.

This won’t change much on Quinn’s end. He’s still signed through 2024 and still earning an average of $14MM per year on his deal. Meanwhile, the Bears are effectively kicking the can down the road. Quinn was initially set to carry a $16MM cap hit in 2022 — that number will rise to ~$19.5MM following today’s adjustment.

Contract Details: Quinn, Whitworth, Harris, Lewis

March 19th, 2020 at 4:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Deals are coming in quickly, so we’ve compiled some important contract details below:

Cameron Fleming (Giants), One year, $4MM, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.

Chris Harris, (Chargers): Two years, $17MM, $7.5MM guaranteed, $2.5MM in 2020-21 incentives, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com.

Dennis Kelly (Titans), Three years, $17.25MM, $8.75MM guaranteed, $4.75MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $1.5MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $4.5MM ($2.5MM guaranteed for injury at signing, fully guaranteed if on roster 5th day of 2021 league year); 2022: $5MM; $400k annual per-game roster bonus, $750K incentives available in 2021-22; $1MM escalator in base salary for 2021-22, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Alex Lewis (Jets), Three years, $18.6MM, $5.6MM guaranteed, $2.5MM signing bonus, salaries 2020: $1.1MM (guaranteed), 2021: $5.8M, 2022: $6M; $2MM 2020 roster bonus guaranteed on 5th day of league year, $400k in annual per-game roster bonuses, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Marcedes Lewis (Packers) One year, $2.25MM; $1.05MM signing bonus, salary 2020: $1.1MM, $9,375 per game active roster bonus, $750K playtime and playoffs incentives available, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Robert Quinn, (Bears): Five years, $70MM, $30MM guaranteed, $3MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $3MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $11.5MM (fully guaranteed), 2022: $12.8MM, 2023: $13.9MM, 2024: $12.9MM; $12.5MM fully guaranteed roster bonus in 2020, $100k annual workout bonuses from 2021-2024, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Andrew Whitworth, (Rams): Three years, $30MM, $12.5MM guaranteed, $5MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $5MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $7MM ($2.5MM guaranteed), 2022: $7.5MM; $2.5MM 2021 roster bonus guaranteed next week, $3MM 2022 roster bonus due six days before 2022 league year, $1.5MM annual incentives, $1.5MM base escalators in 2021-22, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter links).

Nick Williams (Lions), Two year, $10MM, $4.9MM guaranteed, $2MM signing bonus; salaries 2020: $2.9MM (fully guaranteed), 2021: $4.1MM; $200k workout bonus in 2020, $400k in annual per-game roster bonuses available, according to NFL Insider Adam Caplan.

Bears To Sign Robert Quinn, Cut Leonard Floyd

March 17th, 2020 at 11:15am CST by Zachary Links

In one fell swoop, the Bears have revamped their pass rush. On Tuesday, the Bears agreed to a five-year, $70MM deal with Robert Quinn, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Meanwhile, they also released former first-round pick Leonard Floyd (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter).

Quinn’s deal includes $30MM fully guaranteed, giving him solid security over the course of the deal.

The Cowboys worked to keep Quinn, but the numbers crunch didn’t quite allow for that. Dallas, of course, came into the offseason with even bigger fish to fry, including negotiations with quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper. They already watched as cornerback Byron Jones left for the Dolphins, and now they’ll be losing another key member of their defense.

Quinn was the comeback kid in 2019, notching 11.5 sacks for Dallas. It was a resurgent year for the veteran, who had a rocky stretch following his last Pro Bowl appearance in 2014.

The 2011 first-round pick emerged as a serious force in 2012 and looked the part of a world-class defender in 2013 when he posted 19 sacks. He had a solid follow-up effort in 2014 (10.5 sacks), but he missed roughly half of 2015 and 2016 with the Rams. After spending the 2018 season with the Dolphins, Quinn was traded to the Cowboys last offseason.

There were high hopes for Floyd when the Bears selected him in the first-round of the 2016 Draft. The Georgia product had a productive rookie campaign, compiling seven sacks. While the linebacker put up solid numbers in the subsequent three years, his sack numbers have dropped each season. The 27-year-old finished the 2019 campaign with 40 tackles and three sacks.

Floyd was set to earn $13.2MM in what was his fifth-year option year.

Cowboys Notes: Jerry, Dez, Witten

February 27th, 2020 at 6:55pm CST by Rory Parks

This is not exactly surprising given that he’ll turn 78 in October, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is not planning to remain at the helm beyond the expiration of the next CBA, as Jon Machota of The Athletic tweets. Of course, the proposed CBA that will soon be voted on by the league’s workforce is another 10-year agreement, so it makes sense that Jones, who has owned the club since 1989, would be prepared to step down around the time the players and owners sit down again in another decade or so.

However, he is adamant that the proposed CBA is the right move for the league and should be ratified by the players.

Now for more from Dallas:

Former star wideout Dez Bryant hasn’t played since 2017, but he wants to continue his NFL career and recently expressed his desire to rejoin the Cowboys. For what it’s worth, Jones said he hasn’t ruled it out, as Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Jones even revealed a little more than we may have liked, saying he has considered the matter while in the shower.
Jones would also like tight end Jason Witten to return to the team, as Hill notes (Twitter link). However, it sounds like Jones has a reduced role in mind for Witten, and it remains to be seen whether Witten — who is open to signing elsewhere — will be receptive to that.
Likewise, Jones wants to retain pass-rusher Robert Quinn (Twitter link via Hill). The last we heard, the Cowboys had not discussed a new contract with Quinn — understandable, as the club has bigger fish to fry at the moment — but Quinn posted 11.5 sacks in a resurgent 2019 campaign, and Jones hopes there is a way he can keep him in Dallas.
Another member of the Cowboys’ front seven, Tyrone Crawford, is under contract through 2020, but the Cowboys could save $6.9MM by cutting him. That could be tempting, given that Crawford played in just four games in 2019 and had surgery on both of his hips. However, the 30-year-old said he could return to the field this spring, and Jones expects him to be on the roster, though he is definitely a restructure candidate (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News).
Cowboys DE Michael Bennett signed a new contract with the Cowboys after Dallas acquired him from the Patriots in October that allows him to hit free agency this year. As such, his comments to ESPN’s Josina Anderson indicating that he wants to play in 2020 are not surprising (Twitter link). It sounds as though Bennett, 34, wants to hook on with a contender, and there should be a market for his services.

Latest On Dak Prescott, Cowboys FAs

February 8th, 2020 at 12:47pm CST by Ben Levine

We heard earlier this week that negotiations between the Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott could ultimately lead to a franchise tag. However, Stephen Jones clarified that the organization is still focused on completing a long-term deal before Prescott hits unrestricted free agency in March.

“We want to get this done,” Jones told Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Dallas Star-Telegram. “Things are fixing to heat up. We want to put every foot forward and try to grind this out and get a deal done.

“I know he wants to get his contract in the rear view mirror and we want it too. We want him to be treated well, financially and respectfully. We are going to have a real urgency to get this done.”

There’s been optimism surrounding an extension for months, but the report from earlier this week cautioned that a deal wasn’t imminent. We heard back in January that the two sides were close to an agreement, with the Cowboys reportedly willing to give Prescott a contract worth $33MM per season. Hill Jr. notes that the quarterback is seeking a deal that would jump Russell Wilson‘s league-leading $35MM AAV.

“I don’t want to get into the details, but we have offered him significant money,” Jones said. “The money we have offered Dak no matter how you look at it would put him as a top five quarterback in the NFL. That is the way we feel about him. He is one of the best.”

Jones added that the team’s priority is signing their franchise quarterback, and they haven’t discussed contracts with any of their other free agents, including wideout Amari Cooper and pass-rusher Robert Quinn. Hill Jr. tweets that the organization also hasn’t decided whether they’ll bring back tight end Jason Witten or linebacker Sean Lee. We learned this morning that Lee wasn’t going to retire.

NFL Suspends Cowboys DE Robert Quinn

August 8th, 2019 at 2:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The NFL has suspended Cowboys defensive end Robert Quinn two games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.

In statement on Twitter, Quinn’s agent explains the Dallas defender believes his seizure prevention medication was contaminated with a substance called probenecid, which the NFL classifies as a masking agent under its drug policy. Quinn failed his test on April 2nd, and embarked on an investigation to find out how the substance was in his system.

His team claims Quinn’s pharmacy filled a prescription for probenecid prior to filling Quinn’s prescription, which may have resulted in the contamination. Additionally, Quinn argues that his levels of probenecid would have been much higher had he actually been using the substance as a masking agent.

Quinn has already lost his appeal of the ban, so he’ll be out for the first two games of the regular season. The NFL has historically taken a hard approach on drug suspensions, and successful appeals are rare. Recently, Giants wideout Golden Tate appealed his upcoming suspension by arguing that was he taking fertility drugs, but the leagues’s policy is considered “unforgiving” and “rigid.”

Quinn, for his part, recently underwent surgery to repair two fractures in his hand, but was expected to be back in time for the season opener, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Now, he’ll get two additional weeks for his hand to heal, but Dallas will have to rely on other defensive ends — such as Taco Charlton and Tyrone Crawford — to rush the passer opposite DeMarcus Lawrence.

The Cowboys acquired Quinn from the Dolphins in March in exchange for a 2020 sixth-round pick. Quinn agreed to lower his salary under the terms of the deal, reducing his compensation from $11.1MM to $8MM. While he finished with only 6.5 sacks in 2018, Quinn tied for 20th among defensive ends with 24 quarterback hits. Pro Football Focus, meanwhile, assigned Quinn the 19th-highest pass-rush grade among 103 qualifying DEs.

NFC Rumors: Cowboys, Thomas, Vikes, Rams

August 6th, 2019 at 9:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Robert Quinn‘s initial Cowboys preseason slate will be nullified because of an injury he suffered at practice Tuesday. The trade acquisition will undergo surgery in Dallas after breaking his left hand, Todd Archer of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter). Quinn’s fracture, however, may not shelve him for any regular-season time. Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones expects the ninth-year defensive end to be ready by the time the Cowboys face the Giants in Week 1. So, the Cowboys’ August lineup graphics will not feature either of the team’s projected D-end starters, with DeMarcus Lawrence also out for the preseason slate.

Moving first (perhaps predictably) to the Cowboys’ glut of extension candidates, here is the latest from around the NFC:

Jones said earlier today the Cowboys are offering deals that would, at the moment, make Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper among the five highest-paid players at their respective positions. That represents a low bar for Elliott, but Jones revealed one Cowboys stance: that Le’Veon Bell‘s Jets deal slightly lowered the running back market compared to where it was when Todd Gurley signed his lucrative pact. As for the status of Dallas’ deals, Jones does not expect them to be done during the team’s training camp stay in Oxnard, Calif. “To set all expectations, I’d be floored if anything got done before we got (back) to Dallas, with any of the three,” Jones said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic (on Twitter). “I’m not concerned. I don’t feel any momentum. I don’t see anything happening.” The Cowboys will be in Oxnard until August 15.
Solomon Thomas has not lived up to his lofty draft status thus far, but the 49ers will try and capitalize on the former No. 2 overall pick’s interior-rushing talent. With Dee Ford and Nick Bosa now on the edge, Thomas has been rotating with defensive tackles DeForest Buckner at Arik Armstead, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area notes. Thomas saw the majority of his 644 49ers snaps last season on the edge. The Stanford product has just four sacks in two seasons.
Going into their preseason slate, the Vikings have leaned toward Sean Mannion being Kirk Cousins‘ primary backup. That is not surprising, given Mannion’s status as the Rams’ QB2 recently. Mannion and 2017 UDFA Kyle Sloter were rotating No. 2 reps recently, but Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press points out Sloter is now rotating with rookie UDFA Jake Browning with Minnesota’s third-team offense. Both backups are playing for league-minimum money.
Rams rookie linebacker Justin Lawler underwent foot surgery Tuesday, Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com tweets. The Rams drafted Lawler in the seventh round out of SMU. He profiles as a full-season IR candidate. Teams must carry players through to the 53-man roster for them to be eligible for IR-return status during the season.

Cowboys Trade For Dolphins’ Robert Quinn

March 28th, 2019 at 12:26pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys are set to acquire pass-rusher Robert Quinn from the Dolphins, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The Dolphins will receive a 2020 sixth-rounder in return, tweets ESPN’s Todd Archer.

The Saints also showed interest in Quinn, but he’ll take his talents to Dallas instead. He’ll receive a new one-year deal, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). Calvin Watkins of The Athletic tweets that the deal will reduce Quinn’s salary from $11.1MM to $8MM. The Dolphins also picked up the veteran’s $1.12MM roster bonus, according to Albert Breer (via Twitter).

The Cowboys tagged Demarcus Lawrence earlier this month, but the star edge defender has said in the past that he will not sign a one-year tender. Lawrence also recently upped his asking price, which further complicates matters. Meanwhile, Randy Gregory and David Irving have both been hit with indefinite suspensions, so the Cowboys badly needed someone like Quinn on the D-Line.

In 2013, Quinn earned All-Pro acclaim with 19 sacks and seven forced fumbles. He hasn’t matched that level of production in recent years, though Quinn still has a respectable 15 sacks combined over the last two seasons. He did his best work in a 4-3 scheme, so there’s reason to believe that he can thrive in Dallas.

Quinn’s 6.5 sacks in 2018 weren’t a head-turner, but he did tie for 20th among DEs with 24 quarterback hits. Pro Football Focus, meanwhile, assigned Quinn the 19th-highest pass-rush grade among 103 qualifying edge rushers. Quinn is still only entering his age-29 campaign, so he’s a player that could be in the Cowboys’ plans for years to come.

Robert Quinn Leaves Cowboys Visit, To Meet With Saints

March 19th, 2019 at 6:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the Dolphins’ permission, Robert Quinn looks to be on his way to meet with another team. After his Cowboys meeting concluded, Quinn is on his way to visit the Saints, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets.

The Cowboys are not yet close on an agreement to acquire the Dolphins defensive end, Calvin Watkins of The Athletic adds (on Twitter). The Saints expressed interest in Quinn earlier Tuesday.

The Dolphins are willing to eat some of Quinn’s salary, which as of now is $11.8MM in 2019, in order to acquire a draft choice for the veteran defensive end. New Orleans holds just more than $19MM in cap space but will almost certainly not be paying all of Quinn’s salary, in the event a trade agreement is reached.

New Orleans lost Alex Okafor to Kansas City but still has Marcus Davenport in line to be Cameron Jordan‘s edge sidekick. Quinn would likely be a rotational presence. Hybrid defensive lineman Mario Edwards also signed with the Saints last week.

Although he is not on the same level he was when he earned All-Pro acclaim in St. Louis, with a 19-sack season that included seven forced fumbles, Quinn still has compiled 15 sacks over the past two seasons. Both the Saints and Cowboys use a 4-3 defense, which has been where Quinn has been the most productive in his eight-year career. Despite Quinn entering his ninth season, he will only be 29 by Week 1.

Saints Interested In Robert Quinn

March 19th, 2019 at 11:19am CST by Zachary Links

The market for Dolphins defensive end Robert Quinn is starting to take shape. Quinn, who will meet with the Cowboys on Tuesday, has drawn inquiries from the Saints, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter).

Quinn established himself as an elite pass rusher years ago with the Rams, but the Dolphins are eager to trade him as he enters the final year of his contract. That’s not a total indictment on his present skill level, however. Quinn’s $11.8MM base salary is on the high side and a skeptic might say that the Dolphins are looking to tank in 2019.

For the Saints, Quinn could help to form a potent three-headed rotation along with Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport. The Saints also added Mario Edwards Jr. to the mix recently, so they’re clearly focusing on edge depth. Adding Quinn would easily offset the loss of Alex Okafor, who departed in free agency to sign with the Chiefs.

The Saints have less than $20MM in cap room, according to Over The Cap, but a simple restructure or extension could allow the team to take on Quinn’s deal and maintain flexibility through the second and third waves of free agency.