The 49ers have convinced themselves that they can succeed where the Eagles failed with Bryce Huff.
Last year, the Eagles gave Huff a three-year, $51.1 million contract with Philadelphia -- that's big money. They thought he'd be a starter and a quality player. Instead, he started just six games and recorded only 2.5 sacks. Then this offseason, the Eagles traded Huff to the 49ers. And the Eagles were so desperate to get rid of him, they're paying most of his salary this season.
This past week, Huff was interviewed on YouTube about his experience with the Eagles.
“If I’m being 100% honest with you, I wanted a trade like fairly early on,” Huff said. “And just cause of how things went in Philly, I knew pretty early on it wasn’t a fit.
“I knew a trade wasn’t going to happen during the (2024) season. But I talked to my agent about it and was like, when it’s all set and done, I might need to step to put myself in the best position. I kind of knew where it was headed fairly early on into the season.”
This is a troubling quote. Huff essentially said that he instantly wanted off a team that had just given him generational wealth a few months prior. Instead of looking inward and finding ways to be successful under Vic Fangio, Huff threw up his hands and told his agent he wanted a trade. This is a player who has had one good year in five career seasons. Troubling.
Sure, Huff isn't a run good defender, which makes him a poor fit in Fangio's 3-4 defense. But Fangio tried to use him as a designated edge-rusher on passing downs and Huff was ineffective at that role as well. He needs to own his bad season so he can put it behind him and play better this year.