Pace deserves credit for adding Quinn to Chicago Bears defense

In essence, the Bears traded Leonard Floyd for Robert Quinn straight up Tuesday.

With Quinn in and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Prince Amukamara the only other 2019 starters not returning, the Bears are now an odds-on favorite to again be the NFL's No. 1 defense.

No, they haven't solved their quarterback puzzle yet — from where I sit they may have missed that boat already for this off-season — have yet to address offensive-line woes, still need a speed receiver to replace Taylor Gabriel, and Jimmy Graham barely makes the woeful tight end situation mediocre.

But with all of that mostly true two years ago and Mitch Trubisky at quarterback, the Bears were a playoff team that would have advanced to the second round were it not for Cody Parkey.

So don't undersell the impact of what general manager Ryan Pace has done for his “D.”

I get that Bears Nation has its doubts about Pace right now, and that's fair.

With four top-10 picks, his first two first-round draft choices are now officially busts — although we'll never know if Kevin White was Pace's fault because of the injuries, he still owns it — Trubisky is hanging by his fingernails, and while Roquan Smith is still exciting, even he has raised some questions.

But general managers do a lot more than make first-round draft choices and have to be judged accordingly.

The facts are every single piece of this defense except Kyle Fuller is Pace's, and he even had the sense to protect Fuller when many would have let him move on in free agency.

When he told us at the end of the season the Bears liked Floyd because of the “complete” player he has become, Pace just wasn't sharing the whole story.

Yes, Floyd was drafted to become a big-time pass rusher, but with Danny Trevathan a free agent, Pace, head coach Matt Nagy and defensive quarterback Chuck Pagano needed a linebacker who also could play the run and drop into coverage.

It was the retention of Trevathan — at a very reasonable price, I might add — that started these dominoes falling.

Trevathan and Smith are four-down linebackers who can stuff the run, drop into coverage and are very effective blitzers from the inside.

It's that versatility that freed up Pace to move on from Floyd and get the best professional pass rusher available in this free agent crop.

Over Quinn's nine NFL seasons, only J.J. Watt, Von Miller, Chandler Jones, Cameron Wake, Justin Houston, Ryan Kerrigan and Cameron Jordan have more sacks.

Since sacks became an official stat in 1982, the only Bears with more than Quinn (80.5) are Steve McMichael (95), Trace Armstrong (106), Jared Allen (136), Richard Dent (137.5), and Julius Peppers (159.5).

Turn on some Dallas Cowboys tape and see the impact Quinn made last season playing across from Demarcus Lawrence and you realize if Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman, Roy Robertson-Harris and the two inside linebackers are on the field together the Bears' pass rush is lethal, which makes the secondary markedly better.

The cherry on top is that while we haven't yet seen the contract details, Quinn's deal absolutely should save the Bears some much-needed cap space this year over Floyd's.

It also is worth noting that while most of us will now turn our attention back to the offense, almost every one of the top free-agent safeties still are available. And at the moment there still are eight draft picks, including two No. 2's to work with in a few weeks.

While I get the doubts about Pace, all the vitriol and doomsday proclamations from the Twitter trolls escape me.

If Pace eventually fails, certainly those four top ten picks and especially Trubisky will have been the ignition switch. And I'll be the first to scream “no you didn't” if he decides Andy Dalton is his answer at quarterback.

But how about if all the haters take a breath and we wait and see what the 2020 depth chart and the season that follows actually look like before we blow the guy up.

Ryan Pace had a very good day Tuesday.

• Hub Arkush, the executive editor of Pro Football Weekly, can be reached at harkush@profootballweekly.com or on Twitter @Hub_Arkush.