It’s not ‘business as usual’ for the Chicago Bears after the trade of Robert Quinn, a respected team leader: ‘There is a void’

Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams hates the phrase “business as usual.”

In the wake of the Bears trading respected veteran defensive end Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday, Williams welcomed emotion from his players. The trade for a 2023 fourth-round draft pick might have been the smart move for general manager Ryan Poles, but it still affected Quinn’s teammates.

Late Monday, the Bears were celebrating an upset victory over the New England Patriots and dreaming of what might happen if they keep playing that brand of football. But 48 hours later they were saying goodbye to a team captain who in his own quiet way made an impact on and off the field — a stark reminder that executives are building this team for the future and not this season.

The aftermath was not, Williams said, business as usual.

“It happens in the NFL and really in any job where people come and people go, there’s a change of guard so to speak,” Williams said Thursday. “You let your emotions flow, you wish them well, and it’s not business as usual. … We still have a job to do. But we’re going to miss him on a personal and professional level. So you let those things show, but when we get on the field we focus in on the job at hand.”

That’s the major challenge this week as the Bears get set to face a 5-2 Dallas Cowboys team that has lost only to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 and the 6-0 Eagles — where Quinn is headed — in Week 6.

Young defensive ends Trevis Gipson and Dominique Robinson spoke Thursday of being sad to see a mentor move on and eager for an opportunity to make a bigger impact on the field.

The Bears drafted Gipson, who has two sacks and six quarterback hits this season, in 2020, the same year Quinn signed his five-year, $70 million contract to come to Chicago. Over three seasons, Gipson said the veteran taught him “a mountain of things” — different moves and techniques, tendencies to watch on the offensive line, how to handle his business, the importance of mental stability and how to be appreciative in the moment.

Gipson frequently has referenced the mentorship of Quinn and Khalil Mack, who memorably were shown doing Gipson’s Thor sack celebration in an October game last season.

“It is very weird,” Gipson said. “It’s down and up if I’m being completely honest. I was sad and I didn’t expect it. Even when I came in my rookie year, I’ve always been with Rob. He showed me the ropes. It was hard telling him goodbye last night, especially. But it is an opportunity and I’m just going to give it my all.”

It’s obviously a huge task on the field to replace Quinn, who had one sack and three quarterback hits. He played 68% of the defensive snaps this season, according to Pro Football Reference.

[ [Don’t miss] Why the Chicago Bears trading Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 4th-round draft pick ‘made too much sense’ ]

And while his production was well off his 18 ½-sack season in 2021, Quinn undoubtedly occupied a lot of the heads pace and planning of opposing offenses.

Along with Gipson and Robinson, the Bears have veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad and undrafted rookie Kingsley Jonathan as options to see increased snaps in the rotation.

“I told the guys yesterday that they don’t have to be Robert,” Williams said. “I still want them to be themselves. There is a void, but I’ll just wait and see who fills that void naturally. As a coach you don’t want to push guys into being or doing something that they are not comfortable with or are not capable of. So ultimately there is a void, and ultimately someone will step up. We’ll just see who that missing piece is.”

When Poles was asked Wednesday about feeling comfortable trading Quinn, he spoke of his trust in Gipson, his satisfaction with the intensity and toughness that Muhammad brings and the flashes he has seen from Robinson, the former quarterback and wide receiver who converted to defense late in college and has 1 ½ sacks this season.

Poles said Robinson, who tipped a pass that led to Roquan Smith’s interception Monday, has a “promising future,” something the 2022 fifth-round pick called “a confidence booster.”

“My confidence has been building ever since I got here though,” Robinson said. “I came in during the rookie stuff kind of a little nervous, but once I saw I could play and play with some of these guys, I was, ‘OK.’ And then as the weeks keep going on, my confidence continues to build. So keep trying to stack and do what I do best.”

Robinson said he was happy to soak up what he could from Quinn while he was in Chicago. He said Quinn told his teammates what happened when the trade went through. Williams also addressed it with the defense in a meeting.

“When I got the chance to talk to him after our meetings, one-on-one, I told him I appreciated him, I loved him for everything he did for me and that I was blessed to be able to sit back and watch him and develop a little bit and learn from him,” Robinson said. “Because honestly, he’s going to be a Hall of Famer at some point. I truly believe that, and hopefully he gets a ring to be able to add on to what he’s done.”