Why San Francisco 49ers traded for Philadelphia Eagles’ $51 million bust Bryce Huff after disastrous season

Why San Francisco 49ers traded for Philadelphia Eagles’ $51 million bust Bryce Huff after disastrous season
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The Philadelphia Eagles are moving on from one of their biggest free agent busts in franchise history. According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Birds are trading edge rusher Bryce Huff to the San Francisco 49ers for a Day 3 draft pick.

ESPN sources: 49ers and Eagles are working to finalize a trade that will send edge rusher Bryce Huff to San Francisco for a mid-round pick. The trade cannot and would not be processed until after June 1. But both sides are working to make it happen, and Huff already has reworked… pic.twitter.com/FJeGc9Cfwx

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 30, 2025

The Eagles signed Huff to a three-year, $51.1 million deal last offseason, but the trade won’t happen until after June 1. Huff has reportedly reworked his contract to facilitate the move.

Huff failed to meet expectations during his lone season in Philadelphia after spending his first four years with the New York Jets. He managed just 2.5 sacks and 13 tackles while falling out of favor with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, playing only 39% of defensive snaps. The disappointment reached its peak when Huff was inactive for the Super Bowl as the Eagles captured their second championship in franchise history.

The signs pointed to his departure. Huff skipped OTAs and didn’t appear at any of the Eagles’ spring workouts, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane reports. Philadelphia will save $7.95 million in cash while creating upwards of $15 million in cap space for the upcoming season, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

The cap specifics of this deal:

The Eagles declined Bryce Huff's $15.58M fully guaranteed option bonus, which turned it into base salary.

Philadelphia then turned $9.05M of that base salary into a signing bonus, which allows San Francisco to take on the remaining money… https://t.co/FBkXHANhxx

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 30, 2025

Why would the 49ers take on Huff after such a disappointing campaign? He’ll reunite with former Jets head coach Robert Saleh, who returned to San Francisco as defensive coordinator.

Huff thrived under Saleh in 2023, posting 10 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 21 quarterback hits. At 27, he’s entering his sixth NFL season with room for a bounce-back year.

Over 66 games across five seasons, Huff has tallied 20 sacks, 78 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 47 quarterback hits.

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