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Rams’ Robert Quinn has returned to form as one of the NFL’s top pass rushers

Rams defensive end Robert Quinn celebrates during the Rams win over the Seahawks on Sept. 18.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Robert Quinn needs a bottle of water.

The Rams’ relentless defensive end is not sweaty or fatigued from going through pass rushing drills. He is noshing on a sandwich and a taco, trying to explain some physiology.

So he asks a teammate at another lunch table to toss him a bottle.

“Perfect example,” Quinn says as he twists off the white cap and then sets it gently back atop the bottleneck, “The tumor is sitting right on top of the spinal cavity.”

Quinn, 26, is talking about the tumor lodged in his head, the tumor that was discovered when he was in high school.

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The tumor did not prevent him from becoming a first-round draft pick in 2011, however, or earning millions as one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers.

“I realized at a young age how fast life can either welcome you or make you have a rude awakening,” he says of the benign, dime-sized tumor. “And it gave me a little of both.”

After struggling through a back injury that ruined his 2015 season and required surgery, Quinn appears to have returned to his Pro Bowl form.

He helped key the Rams’ victory over the Seattle Seahawks two weeks ago by harassing and sacking quarterback Russell Wilson.

Last week against Tampa Bay, he sacked Jameis Winston, forced a fumble that led to a touchdown, and then secured the victory by running down Winston at the five-yard line as time expired.

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The win kept the Rams (2-1) in a tie for first place in the NFC West heading into Sunday’s game at Arizona.

“I’m starting to feel more and more like normal,” he says. “Hopefully, that trend stays the same.”

Arizona Coach Bruce Arians, who describes Quinn as “a game wrecker,” would like to reverse the trend.

“It looks like he’s back to himself, full speed,” Arians says during a conference call. “He handles the run as well as the pass, but he’s just a tremendous player coming off that edge.”

The 6-foot-4, 264-pound Quinn started developing his skills while playing at Fort Dorchester High in North Charleston, S.C..

But during his senior year in 2007, he began experiencing “migraine-type” headaches and forgetfulness.

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“No matter how many Tylenols or ibuprofens,” Quinn says, “I had headaches all day.”

After a class one day, he felt light-headed, knocked over a trash can trying to steady himself and blacked out in a school hallway. He woke up in the school nurse’s office but chalked up the episode to having not eaten.

A few weeks later, the morning after a game, he got out of bed and began preparing for work at Burger King. But he blacked out again in the bathroom.

“My mom and dad rushed in and that was it,” he says. “Off to the hospital we went.”

Doctors performed a scan and discovered the tumor.

“I had someone tell me, ‘You shouldn’t be here. You should, basically, be dead,’” Quinn says. “And at 17, I’m like, ‘Well, I’m still here.’”

Doctors drilled two small holes in his skull to drain fluid that had built up and caused pressure. He was eventually cleared to resume sports.

Quinn went on to the University of North Carolina, where he immediately impressed teammates with his speed, flexibility and dance moves.

“He’s a freak of nature,” says Rams defensive tackle Cam Thomas, who played with Quinn at North Carolina. “You’d be just like, ‘God, Dawg, how does your body move like that?’”

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Quinn played the 2008 and 2009 seasons at North Carolina — he had 11 sacks as a sophomore — before the NCAA ruled him ineligible for accepting benefits from an agent.

The sanction and the tumor were regarded as potential stains on his draft status, but the Rams selected him with the 14th overall pick in the 2011 draft.

Quinn had five sacks as a rookie, and 10 ½ in 2012. He erupted for 19 sacks and seven forced fumbles in 2013 and earned the first of two consecutive Pro Bowl appearances.

He was limited to eight games — and five sacks — because of the back issue in 2015. Quinn enters Sunday’s game with 52 sacks and 19 forced fumbles in five-plus seasons.

Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams says good edge rushers in the NFL “turn the corner” to pursue quarterbacks at eight yards, most Pro Bowlers at seven.

“You’ll see Robert turn it at a four, five and six,” Williams said during training camp. “Not very many people can do that, only the elite of the elite.”

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Quinn initially honed his NFL craft with help from veteran teammates such as Chris Long and James Hall.

Long played for the Rams for eight seasons. He was released in February and signed with the New England Patriots.

“He showed me how it’s supposed to be done,” Quinn says. “Produce on Sunday and make people laugh at work and you can stick around for a while.”

Long says Quinn’s temperament, speed and other physical gifts make him virtually unstoppable.

“He walks like his toes are directly pointed at each other,” Long said in a phone interview. “It’s a running joke because he’s, literally, running in circles. It’s perfect for pass rushing.

“He has all the gifts to be one of the best of his generation.”

Quinn did not participate in off-season workouts and was brought along slowly in training camp while recovering from back surgery. Through three games, he has shown no loss of the speed, flexibility or relentlessness.

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He still gets checkups about every six months to make sure the tumor has not grown.

“I try not to think about it,” says the married father of two. “’I’ve been living with it for so long, it’s nothing.”

Quinn looks forward to helping the Rams establish themselves as a winning team in their return to Los Angeles. He, and the Rams, are off to good starts.

I’ve still got some more work to do,” he says. “If people like what they see now, well, knock on wood.

“Hopefully, there’s a lot more to come.”

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