Bears notebook: Robert Quinn, Roquan Smith left huge void

Bears players were encouraged to voice grievances in their exit interviews Monday, and defensive tackle Justin Jones was more than willing to air his: The losses of linebacker Roquan Smith and defensive end Robert Quinn at midseason were a bigger blow to the locker room than general manager Ryan Poles might have thought.

“It was pretty huge,” Jones said. “I don’t want to say too much about it. It was a pretty big loss. I’m not gonna lie.”

After a 3-4 start, the Bears were 0-10 after Quinn was traded to the Eagles in Week 8 and 0-9 after Smith was traded to the Ravens in Week 9 to finish 3-14.

“Obviously, the team hasn’t been the same since we traded Roquan and Rob — we haven’t won since then,” said Jones, who was named a team captain after the two defensive leaders were traded. “That speaks to how much of a leader Roquan and Rob were to our defense. You can see the shift in production — sacks, [tackles for loss], pass breakups and interceptions.’’

Indeed, the Bears were tied for seventh in the NFL in points allowed (18.9 per game) and 12th in yards allowed (330 per game) before Quinn was traded. The bottom fell out after that. In the last 11 weeks after the Quinn trade, the Bears were last in the NFL in points allowed (33.1) and last in yards allowed (408) to drop to 32nd in points allowed and 29th in yards allowed for the season.

“It all took a toll,” Jones said. “But there’s no replacing that. I had brought up [in the exit interview] the fact that I would step in and fill some shoes, but Roquan is a household name here. He is Chicago. It was tough for me to step into that role because it’s like, all I can do for the guys is listen and see how they feel and keep checking in on them — stuff like that. But that [leadership void] played a big role, as well.”

The big picture

The loss to the Vikings could be running back David Montgomery’s last game as a Bear. But that’s not why he was taking pictures with his family on the field before heading home Sunday.

“I was just taking a picture with my family, honestly,” said Montgomery, who will be a free agent after four seasons with the Bears. “I was just soaking it all in, reminiscing on everything — just being grateful for everything.”

Montgomery said he is hopeful he can -re-sign with the Bears. But that’s not -entirely up to him.

“I just want to play football,” Montgomery said. “I would love to be here.”

Gipson ‘excited’ for 2023

Defensive end Trevis Gipson had a long season with only three sacks and no forced fumbles (but a team-leading 11 pressures) after having seven sacks and five forced fumbles in 2021. But he won’t be gone for long.

“I’ll be back up here in early February; I’m excited, man,” Gipson said.

“This year has been a struggle. People always ask me, ‘Are you sad? Are you mad? Are you depressed?’ Nah. I’m actually encouraged because I could have ended up with double-digit [sacks] or close to it. I was just a tick away a bunch of times.

“I’m encouraged to get back in the lab, work on my change of direction, polish up my pass rush and get ready for next season.”

Roster moves

Wide receiver Nsimba Webster and tight end Jake Tonges were among seven practice-squad players the Bears signed to reserve/future contracts.

The others were tight end Chase Allen, safety Adrian Colbert, linebacker Kuony Deng, offensive tackle Kellen Diesch and defensive end Gerri Green.