The Philadelphia Eagles lost a lot of talent in the offseason following their Super Bowl victory.
Such is life in the NFL, where teams have to pay for success, seeing their key contributors get poached in free agency. There are certainly a few defenders the Eagles will miss next season, including Milton Williams and Josh Sweat. The same can't be said for every departed Eagle, however, as it's hard to imagine Philadelphia fans will lose sleep over Bryce Huff's absence.
In fact, there is a good chance Huff will hurt his new team, the San Francisco 49ers, more than he will help.
49ers Will Regret Trading for Former Eagles EDGE Bryce Huff
Even though general manager Howie Roseman nailed most of his offseason decisions in 2024, signing Bryce Huff to a three-year, $51 million deal was not one of them. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and head coach Nick Sirianni, who put together the best defense in the NFL, weren't able to get anything out of Huff all season, making his contract look worse as time passed.
Eventually, Philadelphia washed its hands by trading Huff to San Francisco at the end of May.
If anything, the Eagles were lucky to get a conditional fifth-round pick that could upgrade to a fourth-rounder based on performance for Huff. The trade could look even better if Huff looks like he did in Philadelphia last season.
There have been plenty of one-hit wonders in the NFL, and Huff's 2024 season suggests that he could be one of them. His one productive season with the New York Jets got him paid, and he may be another name on the long list of players whose production tanks after getting their big payday.
Yes, Huff is reuniting with Robert Saleh, his former head coach, in San Francisco. The familiarity could help him get back to a higher level, but that may be unlikely after the Eagles, who have gotten so much out of young and unproven defenders over the years, couldn't reach him.
Since leaving the Eagles, the 27-year-old pass rusher has been making negative remarks about his time in Philly. He said that he knew very early on that things wouldn't work out and that he wanted to be traded. This obviously affected his performance as he completely fell out of the rotation in the second half of the season.
The 49ers need Huff to make an impact immediately as they try to get their defense back to elite levels, if they will have a chance to compete in the NFC. If the attitude Huff has shown in Philadelphia is what he is bringing with him to San Francisco, however, it's hard to see this move working out for the Niners.