Bears pass rusher Robert Quinn skips mandatory veteran minicamp

LAKE FOREST – Bears veteran pass rusher Robert Quinn was not present for mandatory minicamp Tuesday at Halas Hall in Lake Forest.

The three-day minicamp runs through Thursday. Most of the NFL offseason program is voluntary, but veteran minicamp is mandatory and some veteran players have bonuses tied to participating in minicamp.

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus confirmed that Quinn’s absence was not excused. Eberflus did not comment further other than to say that he will leave it to general manager Ryan Poles to sort out.

Quinn has not been present at all during voluntary minicamp or organized team activities. This week’s minicamp marks the end of the offseason program until training camp begins in late July.

Quinn was the Bears’ best pass rusher last season when he set the organization’s single-season sack record with 18.5 sacks. There has been some speculation about whether Quinn might be seeking a trade. The Bears traded fellow star pass rusher Khalil Mack in March and signaled a reset for the direction of the team. Quinn made an appearance in April at Halas Hall when he received the team’s Piccolo Award. At the time, he said he didn’t expect to leave Chicago.

“If something’s going to happen it’s going to happen, but again, it is what is what it is,” Quinn said then.

The 32-year-old pass rusher came to Chicago in 2020 as a free agent with the expectation that he was signing with a contender. That all changed rather rapidly in January when the Bears fired Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace. Poles stepped into the GM role and traded Mack, while allowing receiver Allen Robinson and starting guard James Daniels to walk away in free agency.

It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Quinn wanted out. Typically the best way for an NFL player to make himself heard is to not show up.