Recently we introduced you to Isiah Pacheco, the Latino NFL player who made it to Super Bowl LVII in his rookie season. Today, we (re)introduce you to Robert Quinn, the NFL veteran of 10 seasons, who has finally made it to football’s biggest stage, the Super Bowl.
Hailing from South Carolina, Quinn has played for Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and now the Philadelphia Eagles. He has been selected to three Pro Bowls during his career and boasts over 100 sacks for his career.
But Quinn’s journey to the Super Bowl did not come without challenges.
As a high school senior, Quinn had to undergo emergency brain surgery for a benign tumor. When doctors told him he had about a week to live, it shook him. “I had my mom to my right. A couple people in front of my bed,” Quinn told Jeff Joniak during a Bears profile. “I looked over and I just hugged her [my mom] and basically started saying my goodbyes cuz I thought that was it for me.”
Not only did he manage to recover, but he played so well that he was highly recruited as a defensive end and was a three-time state champion in wrestling. “At this point, it’s just part of my life. Robert Quinn with a brain tumor. It’s just something I’ve always been known as.”
In the 2022-23 NFL season, Quinn was a member of the floundering Chicago Bears before he was traded on October 26th to the Philadelphia Eagles, heavy favorites to make it deep into the playoffs. That trade, even though it led him to where he is now, left him “highly upset with how it went down” according to the man himself to Chicago media.
Quinn went on to say, “At the end of the day, it’s just part of the business. They had a different plan for the organization and the team and I wasn’t part of it.” And now, after 12 years in the league, he’s part of something bigger where he’ll be representing his Puerto Rican heritage on one of the biggest stages in the world.
Just recently, Quinn’s mother, María Milagros Camacho Quinn spoke with Telemundo62 about her star athlete children. A native of Puerto Rico, she is proud to have one child heading to the Super Bowl after an outstanding NFL career and another (Jasmine Camacho-Quinn) as a gold-medalist hurdler, representing Puerto Rico and bringing home the gold. Talk about family greatness!
In the interview, Robert and Jasmine’s mother talked about her kids’ celebration of their Latin heritage and being Afro-Latine. “They always tell you that they are Puerto Rican and Black.” And every achievement they reach is a moment of magic that she celebrates for her, her children, and her community.
Here’s hoping the Quinn family gets to celebrate once more for Super Bowl LVII.
