Vic Fangio Makes Surprising Admission About Bryce Huff Amid Struggles
By Jovan Alford
Before the regular season kicked off, the Philadelphia Eagles thought they had the perfect Haason Reddick replacement in Bryce Huff. Huff was coming off an outstanding 2023 season with the New York Jets, producing 10 sacks (career-high).
The Eagles signed Huff to a massive three-year, $51.1 million deal in free agency. However, fast forward to Week 11, and Huff has struggled to replicate what he did with the Jets. The veteran pass rusher only has eight quarterback pressures, four QB hits, and 2.5 sacks.
Huff has seen his defensive snaps decrease over the past two weeks, going from 22 snaps in Week 8 to 18 total in Weeks 9 and 10. With Huff’s snaps shockingly going down, it opened up an opportunity for rookie Jalyx Hunt, who played a season-high 25 defensive snaps.
On Tuesday, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told reporters that Huff playing with a cast on his thumb played a big part in Hunt’s increased playing time, per Zach Berman of PHLY. The veteran defensive coordinator added that the cast keeps him playing with four fingers, so they are trying to limit his early-down snaps.
Vic Fangio said a big part of Jalyx Hunt's increase in playing time was because Bryce Huff is playing with a cast on his thumb that keeps him to four fingers in games. So they're trying to limit Huff's early-down snaps as a result.
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) November 12, 2024
Some Eagles fans weren’t buying Fangio’s explanation as Huff had struggled to make an impact before suffering the thumb injury. The former Jets pass rusher didn’t record his first sack until Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns.
In Sunday’s win against the Dallas Cowboys, Huff had a sack, tackle for loss, a quarterback hit, and a forced fumble. Meanwhile, Hunt had a tackle and pass deflection. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in Thursday night’s matchup against the Washington Commanders.
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