The Kansas City Chiefs' roster has filled out quite nicely over the course of the 2022 offseason, but there's still one flaw that has existed for a while now and still has yet to be entirely patched up: defensive end.
While defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's unit was able to generate pressure at a decent rate last season, it couldn't finish the job by way of sacks. The Chiefs' defense ranked 29th in the NFL in that department last season, and that glaring inability to bring down opposing quarterbacks became a front-and-center focal point for the world to watch get exposed in both the Divisional Round and AFC Championship playoff games at the end of the 2021 campaign. Heading into the offseason, general manager Brett Veach was tasked with rebuilding a unit that desperately needed an injection of talent.
Although Veach did hold up his end of the bargain, he only did so partially. The Chiefs lost defensive end Melvin Ingram to the free agent market and replaced his roster spot with first-round pick George Karlaftis from Purdue. Frank Clark was retained after the team restructured his contract, making it to where Kansas City invested minimally in him compared to what it would've cost to cut him outright. Still, even after bringing Clark back and adding Karlaftis into the fold, more work likely needs to be done in order to make the Chiefs' front four a formidable unit from a pass-rushing standpoint.
In a recent article, Bleacher Report came up with a list of hypothetical trade ideas that would "transform the league" this season. Of the five packages, one of them featured the Chiefs shipping a 2023 second-round pick and a 2023 fourth-round pick to the Chicago Bears in exchange for defensive end/linebacker Robert Quinn. Here's a bit of what Kristopher Knox wrote as far as the reasoning is concerned:
If Quinn is eager to leave Chicago, the rebuilding Bears would be wise to get something valuable in return and make the move. They already dealt Khalil Mack this offseason, so it's not as if they're averse to moving top players.
The problem is that Quinn has a base salary of $12.8 million in 2022 and $12.7 million in dead money remaining on his contract. The Chiefs, who have $11 million in cap space, would have to clear some room to absorb Quinn's salary.This could be done by signing offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to a contract extension before the July 15 franchise-tag deadline.
In this hypothetical deal, Kansas City would get another proven playmaker for its front seven, while Chicago would get future draft chips with which to aid its ongoing rebuild.
This is far from the first time that Quinn's name has been thrown around in trade-related discussions, and it surely won't be the last. He's a quality pass-rushing threat at a premier position and if he's even remotely close to being available for contending teams, it makes total sense for one (or more) to pursue him. After all, he did amass a whopping 18.5 sacks last year and also notched 11.5 in 2019. 2020 season aside, Quinn has been a legitimate weapon for defenses in recent years. He'd instantly improve the Chiefs' pass rush at a mostly reasonable cost and has cap hits under $20M in both 2023 and 2024 as well.
On the other hand, Quinn is not an 18.5-sack player on a yearly basis. Prior to 2019, the last time he'd reached 10 or more was 2014. At age 32, it reasons to wonder how much the three-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro has left in the tank. Veach overhauled the Chiefs' roster in an effort to add a lot of youth into the fold, and trading draft capital for Quinn would be doing the opposite of that. The juice very well could be worth the squeeze, but it's something to consider nonetheless.
In regards to compensation, Kansas City has a near-surplus of projected picks to work with in the 2023 NFL Draft. Losing a pair of them — especially given that this scenario calls for one of them to be a Day Three selection — wouldn't be the end of the world if it secured a multi-year starter. With this being all but certainly Clark's final year as a Chief at his current price point, replacing him with a somewhat more affordable (compared to Clark's original contract) option could be an avenue for both short and long-term improvement. Will the Chiefs end up actually pulling the trigger on a Quinn trade with the Bears? Only time will tell.
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