Bears general manager Ryan Poles made it clear from the start that he’s building for the future. Unfortunately, that’s included parting ways with expensive, aging veterans, who have been mainstays on the roster.
Defensive end Robert Quinn is the latest to exit Chicago after the Bears traded him to the Eagles on Wednesday. Chicago received a fourth-round pick in exchange for Quinn, which gives the Bears seven draft picks heading into the 2023 NFL draft.
Poles said it was extremely difficult to make the trade.
“These decisions, they’re really, really tough because it’s not a transaction, it’s deeper than that,” Poles said, via NBC Sports Chicago.
“There’s the emotional side, the human part of it that you know you’re affecting not only a man but his family. You’re kind of shaking that all up and I don’t take that lightly at all and I’m sensitive to that.”
On top of that, Poles said it was difficult to mess with the locker room culture in trading a defensive leader like Quinn. But he also understands that his job isn’t to just worry about the team right now. It’s about the future.
“I value – I think I’ve talked about that a lot – the locker room and what it means and the culture and it sucks to mess with that, to be completely honest with you,” Poles said. “But again, my job is to do what’s best for this organization not only now, but in the future. I felt like that was the best move for us to make.”
With the Bears coming off a dominating 33-14 victory over the Patriots, Poles understands trading a captain in Quinn could have a negative impact on the locker room. But, when considering the future, it felt like an obvious move.
“That’s really where you have to compartmentalize those two different areas,” Poles said. “You know, for the future I think it’s going to give us the ability to continue to grow and build our foundation that we’re trying to build. That is the exciting part.”
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