Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers’ defense could look a lot different down the middle this Sunday after they lost another linebacker for the season due to an injury.
One of the most reliable defenders for the Niners this season was acquired this offseason by their Wild Card opponent. Bryce Huff was not a scheme fit for Vic Fangio’s defense. At sub-260 pounds, Huff is not a player you can play on every down and expect to hold up against the run.
Huff ended up playing 272 snaps for the Eagles in 2024. That number nearly doubled with the 49ers in 2025, as Huff played just over 50 percent of the snaps for Robert Saleh during the regular season.
The 49ers were desperate for pass rush opposite Nick Bosa. So this offseason, Robert Saleh had no issue convincing the front office that one of his former players who thrived in his scheme was worth trading for.
The 49ers traded a fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for Huff. That pick could have turned into a fourth-rounder, under the condition that Huff had eight sacks in 2025.
Huff looked well on his way to surpassing that total during the first two months of the season. He had two sacks in the first three games. Then, Nick Bosa, the player with one of the strongest gravitational pulls of any defensive linemen in the NFL, was lost for the season due to a torn ACL.
Huff had a sack in Weeks 5 and 7, bringing his total to four in the first seven games. Unfortunately, that would be the final sack Huff recorded all season.
While the sack total hasn’t changed since before Halloween, Huff’s pressure numbers took off during the second half of the season. He had four sacks in the first seven weeks, but failed to record a quarterback hit. He missed Weeks 8 and 9 after suffering a hamstring injury. Per Sports Info Solutions, Huff had 17 quarterback hits from Week 10 on.
So, the trade is official. Bryce Huff, with a cap number of $7.9 million in 2025 and the option to get out of his contract without eating any dead money after the season, in exchange for a fifth-round pick. Big picture, the trade made sense from a scheme fit and financial perspective.
The trade has come full circle, as Huff will have the opportunity to prove something against the team that didn’t think he was playable this Sunday.
