The Chicago chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America has selected Bears outside linebacker Robert Quinn and safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. as co-recipients of the 2021 Chicago Media Jeff Dickerson Good Guy Award.
The honor is given to members of the organization for their cooperation with the media. The award was recently named after Dickerson, a long-time Bears reporter for ESPN who passed away Dec. 28 after a year-long battle with colon cancer at the age of 43.
Quinn and Gipson were presented their awards Wednesday during Zoom interviews with the media.
"Thank you, thank you so much," Quinn said. "It's a humbling honor. I'm just doing my job when it comes to interviews, I guess. But thank you all for nominating and honoring me for this."
"Appreciate you guys for this," Gipson said. "It's an honor. Truly, it's an honor to have the type of relationship with you guys, to be able to come in here and answer the questions and just have that communication back with you guys. So, I appreciate y'all for voting for me."
Gipson revealed that he plans to display his plaque in his office.
"I truly genuinely appreciate this, and it's my pleasure to get in front of you guys, talking to you guys every week, so I appreciate this honor," he said.
Gipson learned how to interact with the media during his first few years in the NFL with the Browns by watching his veteran teammates. He singled out Andrew Hawkins, a Cleveland receiver from 2014-16.
"Not every question is going to be a favorable question that you enjoy answering," Gipson said. "But to see guys like that around me in the younger part of my career—we had those old school vets in Cleveland back in my day—to see that firsthand and to witness that, you begin to understand how you conduct yourself and be a professional when it comes to talking to the media no matter the subject, no matter the situation."
Bears players who've previously won the Good Guy Award are Josh McCown (2013), Ryan Mundy (2014), Matt Slauson (2015), Tracy Porter (2016), Zach Miller (2017), Prince Amukamara (2018), Allen Robinson II (2019) and Mitchell Trubisky (2020).
Roster moves: In other news Wednesday, the Bears placed tight end Jesper Horsted on injured reserve, put practice squad linebacker Charles Snowden on the reserve/COVID-19 list and signed cornerback Stanford Samuels to the practice squad.
Horsted originally joined the Bears in 2019 as an undrafted free agent from Princeton, where he played wide receiver. He appeared in six games with one start as a rookie, catching eight passes for 87 yards and one touchdown. After spending the entire 2020 season on the practice squad, Horsted appeared in seven games, all as a reserve, in 2021 and caught two passes—both for touchdowns of 19 and 2 yards.
Snowden signed with the Bears this year as an undrafted free agent from Virginia. He has appeared in two games, playing six snaps on defense and 13 on special teams.
Samuels entered the NFL in 2020 with the Packers as an undrafted free agent from Florida State and appeared in two games as a rookie.
