It had to be done.
The Eagles’ trade of disappointing EDGE Bryce Huff to the 49ers – a deal reportedly being finalized, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter – needed to happen for the player and for the team.
The Eagles found a way to save money and get something in return while Huff gets a career reprieve elsewhere in a place he should be welcomed warmly – a win-win trade for both organizations.
There was really no other recourse, and Howie Roseman was fortunate to find a team willing to take on Huff’s reworked contract after the disappointing season Huff just slogged through.
Huff couldn’t stick around to see if he could make amends for a dismal 2024 in which he played just 12 games, started only six of them, and logged just 2 1/2 sacks despite signing a monster deal in the offseason.
He made too much money, was too unhappy, and didn’t have an advocate in his own defensive coordinator.
From the start, Huff never truly fit the scheme that known taskmaster Vic Fangio was bringing to the organization in his first season presiding over the defense. Roseman had forked over a pretty penny to lure his No. 1 priority in free agency, signing the former Jets pass rusher to a three-year deal worth more than $50 million, but it was fairly clear by late August and into September that Roseman was about to take an ROI loss.
Roseman quietly has missed on some other defensive free agents, including linebacker Devin White last offseason and safety Terrell Edmunds in 2023, but those weren’t nearly as financially impactful as the miss on Huff.
Fortunately for Roseman, his dart throw on linebacker Zack Baun landed squarely in the bull’s eye as Baun turned into an overnight All-Pro, and the ridiculously brilliant play of his first two 2024 draft picks – Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean – helped Fangio execute his scheme to near perfection and cover up the Huff miss.
The Eagles emerged as the NFL’s top-ranked defense en route to winning the Super Bowl, a game Huff wasn’t even active for because the team welcomed back Brandon Graham and his one functional arm.
Fangio never spoke glowingly about the Memphis product, and as Huff struggled in training camp and into the start of the season, Fangio wasn’t exactly throwing his arm around the laboring edge defender's shoulder.
Fangio repeatedly told reporters that Huff needed to separate himself from the team’s other edge defenders and insisted that 2024 wouldn’t be a retirement tour for the 36-year-old Graham, who quickly took the snaps that were expected to be Huff’s.
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Huff played more than 50 percent of the defensive snaps just twice in the first seven weeks, then played just 32 total from Weeks 8-10, then was inactive for the next five games as he dealt with both a wrist injury and a padlock on the exit door to Fangio’s doghouse.
For the Jets, Huff functioned best as a situational pass rusher who could come in on second-and-long or third down, get into a three-point stance, and take aim at the quarterback. Fangio’s scheme calls for standup edge defenders who can either rush or occasionally drop into coverage, creating some guesswork for the offense that didn’t exist when Huff entered the game.
It’s no surprise that San Francisco ended up being the taker. Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was the Jets’ head coach when Huff had his breakout, 10-sack season in 2023. The Niners also run a wide-nine scheme that caters better to Huff’s style of pass rush. Huff won’t have to worry about run defense in going back to a situational pass rush role.
By the end of the Super Bowl, the Eagles had already moved onto a future EDGE tandem of Jalyx Hunt, who flashed as a rookie third-rounder, and Nolan Smith, a 2024 first-round pick who made a big jump in the second half of his second season.
Even the offseason loss of their best edge rusher, Josh Sweat, to Arizona couldn’t convince the Eagles into giving Huff a second chance. Roseman just stockpiled more bodies at the position, signing veterans Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari and using his final draft pick on Virginia Tech product Antwan Powell-Ryland.
The writing was already on the wall. Roseman just needed to find a team as ready to make a deal as he and Huff were.
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