Former Eagles defensive end Bryce Huff is excited for his new opportunity to play for the San Francisco 49ers, a situation he says he dreamed about after his forgettable season with the Eagles.
Huff appeared on “The SF Niners” podcast that was released July 1. During the interview, Huff said he was not surprised that the Eagles traded him to the 49ers because of the way he felt he fit into the defensive plans as early as last year’s training camp.
“If I’m being 100% honest with you, I wanted to trade fairly early on just because of how things went in Philly,” Huff said. “I knew pretty early on that it wasn’t a fit, but being a signing of that magnitude, being undrafted and going and getting that contract and being in Philly, the expectations are at an all-time high. I knew a trade wasn’t going to happen during the season, but I talked to my agent about it. I was like, ‘Yeah, when it’s all said and done, I might need to step just to be able to put myself in the best position to ball out and have a fruitful career.’”
Huff, who signed a three-year, $51.1 million deal with the Eagles, was brought in as the replacement for linebacker Haason Reddick, who the team later traded to the Jets. Huff had 10 sacks with the Jets in the 2023-24 season, but he failed to duplicate the same results last season, finishing with 2.5 sacks. Huff also dealt with a wrist injury that required surgery, keeping him out of five games in the regular season.
His absence led to more playing time for linebackers Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt, who performed well enough to take away snaps from Huff. Huff remained on the sideline for most of the team’s playoff run and was inactive for the Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs, a decision that did not please Huff. The writing was on the wall for Huff when he was inactive for Super Bowl LIX and the team signing edge rushers Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche in free agency, and the Eagles eventually traded him to the 49ers for a 2026 fifth-round pick that could become a fourth-round pick based on certain conditions. After the trade was completed, Huff went on social media, posting a picture of himself that looked as if he was pleased he was gone.
Huff did not get into specifics about what issues he had during his time with the Eagles, but he felt the trade was necessary to get his career back on track.
“There was a plethora of things that went down,” Huff said. “I don’t want to get into specifics, but being in the league for five years and going into my sixth right now, I kind of knew what it felt like for me to be in a good situation, and that’s when I said to myself, ‘Yeah, I have to look out for myself and do what I think is best.’ I kind of knew where it was headed fairly early on into the season, probably even during training camp if I’m being honest with you, so when everything kind of popped off, it was just like, ‘Yeah, all right, let’s get to work.’”
Huff going to the 49ers allows him to reunite with former Jets head coach Robert Saleh, who he played three seasons for and had his success. Huff credited Saleh and his staff for helping him with his pass rush. He also believes that playing for Saleh would allow him to make an adjustment he did not get a chance to do much of last season.
“It feels like home,” Huff said about playing for Saleh. “Honestly, I’m going to be able to put my hand in the dirt and utilize my full posterior chain to get off the ball every snap. It gives me an advantage because that’s what I worked on my entire life. I’ve been playing on the D-line since I was 4 years old with my hand in the dirt, so I feel like that mind-muscle connection solidified for over 15 years of just playing football. That’s how my body fires the best honestly, and that’s really all it comes down to.”
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Chris Franklin may be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com.
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