The Philadelphia Eagles spent the majority of the 2025 offseason overhauling the NFL’s reigning No. 1 defense. As of Week 1, they had turned over 46% of the depth chart on that side of the football, including five players who logged at least 20 snaps in Super Bowl LIX.
Any time a team undergoes that level of change, there will be plenty of moves to second guess. General manager Howie Roseman has caught his fair share of scrutiny, especially as the Eagles continue to explore the dregs of free agency for roster help.
One move fans (and probably Roseman himself) were second-guessing throughout the 2024 season was the Eagles’ decision to sign free agent pass rusher Bryce Huff to a three-year deal worth up to $51.1 million.
We all know how that one turned out. Huff wound up being a poor fit for Vic Fangio’s defense. He made next to no impact in the Eagles’ starting lineup, missed time late in the regular season with a wrist injury, and was eventually phased out of the rotation completely in the playoffs. That Roseman was able to find a trade partner for Huff this offseason was a small miracle, the end of an error for one of the best GMs in football.
Philly’s trade partner, the San Francisco 49ers, saw enough upside in Huff to not only send the Eagles a 2026 fifth-round draft pick, but take on $7.95 million of Huff’s remaining salary. That made the deal a no-brainer from Philadelphia’s side, and through one game of the 2025 season, Roseman and company are firmly on the winning side.
Bryce Huff’s San Francisco 49ers debut was all too familiar for Eagles fans
Huff’s hopes for a career renaissance with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, his former coach when he entered the league as an undrafted rookie with the New York Jets, are off to a slow start.
Per Pro Football Focus, Huff played 26 snaps in his debut with San Francisco. In the final box score, he was the same player who baffled Eagles fans last season — logging goose eggs across the board.
Bryce Huff played 50% of the 49ers' snaps in Week 1.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) September 8, 2025
He logged zero stats in the box score, just like he did in 4 of the 12 games he played for the Eagles last season.
Huff had his most productive season of his career in Saleh’s defense in 2023, when he recorded 10 sacks and 67 quarterback pressures for the Jets, according to PFF. There’s still time for him to rediscover some of that form as a situational pass rusher for the 49ers, but Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks wasn’t it.
Read more: Next Eagles defender to land in Vic Fangio’s doghouse is painfully clear
You could call it a bargain to pay a shade under $8 million for a 27-year-old pass rusher with a 10-sack season on his resume. But Huff hasn’t truly impacted a game since he hit free agency in March of 2024, and the only solace for Eagles fans is that he’s another team’s problem now.