Robert Quinn (born May 18, 1990) is an American football defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina, and was drafted by the Rams in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
High school career
Quinn attended Fort Dorchester High School in North Charleston, South Carolina, where he played for the Fort Dorchester Patriots high school football team. As a senior his season was shortened after undergoing brain surgery for a benign tumor. Quinn made a full recovery and was able to resume his football career. He registered 54 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 5 sacks and 21 quarterback hurries before the surgery. He was ranked the 19th best defensive end recruit by Scout.com and the 18th by Rivals.com He was also a 3-time heavyweight state champ in 4A wrestling. He also played in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
College career
Quinn attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he played for the North Carolina Tar Heels football team. As a freshman in 2008, Quinn started 12 of 13 games, recording 34 tackles (6.5 for losses) and two quarterback sacks and forced two fumbles. He was also named the ACC's Brian Piccolo Award winner as the league's most courageous player and finished third in the voting for the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
As a sophomore in 2009 Quinn had 52 tackles and led the ACC and was 15th in the country in tackles for losses with 19.0 and was second in the league and 16th in the nation in sacks with 11.0 sacks. Additionally, he had three pass breakups and was second in the ACC and fourth in the country with six forced fumbles. For his efforts he was a First-team All-ACC selection and was a Second-team All-American by CBS. He also finished second in the ACC Defensive Player of the Year voting.
See also: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill football scandalAs a junior in 2010, Quinn missed the season after he was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for lying to investigators about receiving travel accommodations and jewelry.
On November 19, 2013, the University of North Carolina sent a disassociation letter to Quinn, Marvin Austin, and Greg Little for the improper benefits taken during their time at the university. The three athletes are prohibited from contacting current North Carolina athletes and are not allowed inside the Kenan Football Center or other athletic facilities on campus.
Professional career
2011 NFL Draft
Already in April 2010, Quinn was regarded as one of the top prospects for the 2011 NFL Draft. Despite sitting out all of his junior season, he was still projected to be a top-10 selection in January 2011. His stock slightly dropped after the combine, projecting him at No. 11 in early March. Quinn was eventually drafted as the 14th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams.
Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | Wonderlic | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 4 in | 265 lb | 34 in | 10⅛ in | 4.60 s | 1.64 s | 2.74 s | 4.31 s | 6.99 s | 34 in | 10 ft 5 in | 24 reps | x | |||||||
St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams
2011
On July 30, 2011 Quinn signed a four-year $9.4 million contract (including a $5.3 million signing bonus) with the St. Louis Rams and arrived a day late to practice due to the birth of his first son. On September 19, 2011, Quinn recorded his first career sack against the Giants on Monday Night Football. On October 30, 2011, Quinn recorded his second sack and blocked a punt against the New Orleans Saints, earning the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week Award for his effort. Quinn ended his rookie season with five sacks, three blocked punts, and generated positive reviews for his pass rushing skills.
2012
In 2012, Quinn started fourteen of the Rams' sixteen games. He set career highs in tackles and sacks with 29 and 10.5, respectively. In Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals, Quinn recorded 3 sacks, a pass deflect, and the first forced fumble of his career.
2013
In Week 1 of 2013 versus the Arizona Cardinals, Quinn tied his career high for sacks in a game with three, causing two fumbles and was also held once by Cardinal left tackle Levi Brown in a 27-24 Rams win in St. Louis. For his efforts he was named Sports Illustrated's NFC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time. In addition he was named the Official NFL NFC Defensive Player of the Week on September 11, 2013. In Week 11 Quinn forced a fumble that was recovered for a touchdown by Chris Long and for their efforts they were named co-Sports Illustrated's NFC Defensive Players of the Week.
In week 16, Quinn recorded 3 sacks against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, passing Kevin Carter for the most sacks in a single season by a Ram with 18.
Robert Quinn was awarded the 2013 PFWA Defensive Player of the Year award; in addition to being a consensus First-team All-Pro.
2014
On September 13, 2014 Quinn signed a six-year extension with the Rams through 2019.
NFL stats
Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG | TD | PD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | STL | 15 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2012 | STL | 16 | 29 | 24 | 5 | 10.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2013 | STL | 16 | 57 | 50 | 7 | 19.0 | 7 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2014 | STL | 16 | 46 | 39 | 7 | 10.5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
2015 | STL | 8 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Career | 71 | 176 | 146 | 30 | 50.0 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Key
- GP: games played
- COMB: combined tackles
- TOTAL: total tackles
- AST: assisted tackles
- SACK: sacks
- FF: forced fumbles
- FR: fumble recoveries
- FR YDS: fumble return yards
- INT: interceptions
- IR YDS: interception return yards
- AVG IR: average interception return
- LNG: longest interception return
- TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
- PD: passes defensed