PHILADELPHIA − Seriously, Robert Quinn loves it in Philadelphia.
It’s just that the 32-year-old defensive end, whom the Eagles traded for on Oct. 26, has had to deal with a lot.
It goes well beyond learning a new playbook and new teammates. After all, that shouldn’t be a big deal for someone in his 12th season, who is on his fifth team.
Except that Quinn has never been traded in the middle of the season, and Quinn went from a Chicago Bears team where he was playing 68% of the snaps, to an Eagles team where he has played 20% in two games.
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This from a guy who ranks seventh among active players with 102 career sacks.
“Coming from having a ‘C’ (for captain) on your chest, to having to be a role player, I take my hat off to him because he came in right away and just like, ‘I’m just following y’alls lead,'” fellow defensive lineman Brandon Graham said.
But it goes well beyond that.
Quinn also has a wife and three kids, the youngest is 3 months old. They’re in Chicago, where Quinn spent the last 2 1/2 seasons. Quinn has been living in a hotel since coming to Philadelphia.
“With all the suitcases,” he said with a laugh.
Is the bed comfortable?
“Look, you make it work,” he said. “If I don’t like the bed, I sleep on the floor.”
Then he added sarcastically: “We’re just football players, right? We’re no longer humans once we put on the jersey.”
But there’s more. Quinn is doing all of this while not getting a bye week. He was traded before the Bears’ week off and just after the Eagles had theirs. Sure, Quinn got a pseudo-bye as the Eagles last played on Thursday, Nov. 3 before the next game on Monday night against the Washington Commanders.
That means Quinn, along with possibly a few others who changed teams, can become the first player since the NFL went to a uniform schedule in 1933 to play 18 games in a season, according to CBSsports.
“That’s not really a record I’m looking for – 18 games and no bye week,” Quinn said. “Come on, man. You can borrow my pads if you want to do that. I mean, 18 weeks, no bye week, Year 12. It’s a heck of an adjustment, and in a new city.”
Quinn is grateful to get this mini-break, though.
“I sat on the couch, drinking sweet tea,” Quinn said. “That’s pretty much all I did. I didn’t do a whole lot.”
He also used the time to learn the playbook while resting. The Eagles, who are 8-0, will play every week in their remaining nine games, all the way through Jan. 8. That could continue through the playoffs, and possibly through the Super Bowl in mid February.
“I think for me, I learn a whole lot better on the field,” Quinn added. “I can look over plays a million times, but I like to be on the field learning. That’s just me. I guess it gave me an extra day or two to kind of look over the playbook and make sure I’m up to par with everything.”
Quinn had 18.5 sacks in 2021 with the Bears, but he has only had 1 in nine games this season. He came close in his two games with the Eagles, with one QB hit and four pressures.
Still, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said he’d like to get Quinn more chances. Sirianni said he expects Quinn to play close to the amount Graham does. Graham, who’s two years older than Quinn, has played 43% of the defensive snaps this season.
“We have to do a better job of making sure that he does get more reps because we know he can affect the game in that manner,” Sirianni said. “That’s obviously something we’re aware of and that he’ll get more reps as we continue to move forward.”
Quinn’s new teammates, especially veterans like Graham and Fletcher Cox, have no doubt that Quinn will adjust.
That’s because they heard about Quinn five years ago, when Chris Long played defensive end for the Eagles during the Super Bowl season. Long was with the Rams, then based in St. Louis, in 2011 when Quinn was the team’s first-round pick. The two were teammates until 2016.
Quinn said Long is among his best friends.
“I walked in (as a rookie), same old me, just quiet, casual, but Chris, he’s very energetic,” Quinn said. “He kind of brings everyone around. He likes to have a good time. So I’m myself, and I kind of chirp in when it’s time, and let him do most of the talking.
“Just a great dude, great person. He welcomed me as a rookie into the room.”
Quinn said he called Long after he was traded to the Eagles.
“Basically, he told me that besides the people, that I would just love it here, and he just kind of left it at that,” Quinn said.
So far, Quinn said Long is right, even if he’s adjusting to a new team, midseason, while living in a hotel, with his wife and kids about 1,500 miles away. It might be short-lived, too. According to the NFL Network, the Eagles and Quinn agreed to rip up the last two years of his contract and allow him to become a free agent.
Quinn would count $14 million against the salary cap in 2023 under the terms of his contract, more than the Eagles would be willing to pay.
But Quinn has other things on his mind.
“I’m slowly adjusting,” Quinn said. “The guys in the locker room make it easier. It’s a transition, but a transition to a great place, so I can’t really complain. That’s what makes it easier.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
