It wasn’t sunny in Philadelphia for Bryce Huff; at least not for long. After a breakout 2023 season with the Jets, the Eagles saw him as a foundational piece for their revamped defense. They paid him accordingly: three years, $51.1 million. But the fit never quite materialized. A wrist injury in the middle of the season sidelined Huff, and even after returning in December, his role remained limited. He finished the year with just 2.5 sacks and 13 total tackles across 12 games — a steep drop from expectations and a mismatch with the contract.
By spring, both sides needed a reset. The Eagles, facing roster constraints and retooling their front seven, sent Huff to San Francisco for what is reported to be a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick, which could escalate to a fourth-round pick based on performance incentives. For the 49ers, it’s a classic low-risk, high-upside swing — Huff still owns elite pass-rush traits, and he’ll be reunited with Robert Saleh, who coached him in New York. But the postscript in Philly didn’t go unnoticed. Not long after the deal, Huff posted a social media nudge that might have a deeper meaning.
In a move likely aimed at the Eagles, Bryce Huff uploaded a post to his Instagram story. The post, originally from NFL Next Gen Stats, discusses the defensive ends with the highest QB pressure rate. According to this post, Bryce Huff has the second-best QB pressure rate since 2022 at 19.9%, only falling below Micah Parsons, who has 20%. To the usual onlooker, this might just be another post by a player, boasting of his stats. But with everything that happened between the Eagles and Huff, it just feels like a taunt from him for the Eagles for giving up on him so easily.
Somehow, Huff’s trade has become a point of celebration; after all, he’s getting away from the Philly fans. While Huff was probably himself disappointed with his season, the fans were in no mood to console. With many roasting him for his season, irrespective of the fact that the wrist injury did play a good role in his decline in form. The environment had become too toxic for him to stay at the Eagles. As a result, Bryce even posted a selfie of himself on social media as a way of saying goodbye to the bad experience he had.
With the deal being completed, Bryce will be longing to get back on the field and prove all his critics wrong. Having already played under Robert Saleh, Bryce will be in familiar territory and will prepare to return to the 2023 level, when he recorded 10 sacks and 29 combined tackles. The 49ers clearly believe in this vision. Meanwhile, for them, this deal will be financially great. After all, reports suggest that the 49ers will only be spending $7.95 million for his salary this year, with the rest of the amount being paid by the Eagles. While they will have to pay $17 million as salary in 2026, this is still a financially viable option for them, as the 49ers look to improve their 2024 record by bringing in new players.
49ers take big steps to improve the team
Coming back from an abysmal season in 2024, the 49ers have quite a lot of work to do. Having recorded only 6 wins from their 17 games, it appears as if the management is going for a complete overhaul. From the recent transactions and trades, it is also clear that they are looking to improve every part of the field, whether it be the defense or the offense.
Having already signed Bryce Huff from the Eagles, who had only 2 years left on the contract with the Eagles, it is a high-reward, low-risk move for the 49ers. After all, he has previously touched new heights with Robert Saleh. However, they are not stopping there; the 49ers have also signed WR Malik Knowles from the Green Bay Packers. While waiving offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere. The 49ers have also restocked their defensive lineup, primarily through the draft, in a bid to drastically improve the current situation. They ended up securing the 11th pick on defensive end Mykel Williams and second- and fourth-round choices on tackles Alfred Collins and CJ West, respectively.
Just as the 49ers were looking stronger with new reinforcements, a new tragedy has struck, with the recent development of the team, placing WR Trent Taylor on the injured reserve. Things are starting to look a little serious for the 49ers. While the exact cause of injury is not known, Matt Barrows of The Athletic believes it to be a back injury. It is also unclear what the extent of the injury is and when it originally occurred, given that the OTAs started last week. From all the signs, this will not be an easy season for the team as they undergo significant transitions and numerous trades.
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