It’s easy to look at the Philadelphia Eagles signing Bryce Huff to a $51 million contract only to see him post 2.5 sacks on his way to being inactive for the franchise’s Super Bowl victory as a healthy scratch, as a failure.
In the grand scheme of general manager Howie Roseman’s tenure, Huff’s contract is a rare free agency misstep, but that the Eagles managed to pry a conditional fifth-round pick from the San Francisco 49ers in a trade for Huff softens some of the blow of a signing that clearly didn’t work out.
Huff’s departure combined with Josh Sweat signing as a free agent with the Arizona Cardinals adds pressure to third-year edge rusher Nolan Smith to make another leap in 2025, after a stellar sophomore campaign.
Eagles’ Vic Fangio Weighs in On Bryce Huff’s Disappointing Tenure
Mitchell Leff | Getty Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has a theory for why Bryce Huff didn’t work out.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is frequently praised for Philadelphia’s swarming pass rush and dramatically improved secondary becoming driving forces of last season’s Super Bowl run.
As Philadelphia begins preparations for the 2025 season, with OTAs underway at the NovaCare Complex, Fangio says Huff’s hand injury derailed what had the potential to be a second half of the season comeback story for the 27-year-old.
“I think the one thing is he was getting better, and when he hurt his hand, he tried to play with it a couple of weeks,” Fangio told reporters on June 3. “It wasn’t going good because he was reluctant to use his hand. Then, when they operated on it, he had to play with a big cast on his hand, which basically rendered his hand useless, and then rendered your arm useless because you can’t use your hand.
“That really had an effect on him. And we just came out of the draft season and the first thing you see when they put a name up on the board is his hand size, arm length. Well, he lost all that.”
Ultimately, Huff wound up missing five games after undergoing surgery to repair his hand, but upon returning wound up not recording a tackle in either of Philadelphia’s playoff victories before being shut down as a healthy scratch for Super Bowl LIX.
Why Vic Fangio May Wind Up Right About Bryce Huff
GettySan Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh now reunites with Bryce Huff.
Whether Fangio’s assessment is correct that Huff’s injury is what held him back, or the former New York Jet simply was miscast in the veteran defensive coordinator’s scheme are almost equally irrelevant. It simply did not work out in Philadelphia, for Huff, or for the Eagles.
However, Fangio isn’t writing Huff’s career off just yet.
“Things evolved,” Fangio told reporters. “But I think he’ll do fine in San Francisco.”
In San Francisco, the 49ers will turn to Huff to make up for some of the production lost when linebacker/pass rusher Dre Greenlaw departed this offseason, but he’ll also be reuniting with former Jets head coach Robert Saleh, currently the 49ers’ defensive coordinator.
Huff posted 10 sacks in 2023 before agreeing to terms with the Eagles, in Saleh’s scheme, but also added 67 quarterback pressures that season and 38 the prior year in just 173 pass-rush snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
San Francisco is hoping continuity and familiarity pay off while the Eagles get to turn loose young edge rushers like Smith and Jalyx Hunt on opposing quarterbacks in 2025, hoping that Fangio’s second season sees the defense make major strides in defense of the franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy.
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