Bryce Huff, Jets
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Former New York Jets pass rusher Bryce Huff warming up ahead of an NFL game against the New England Patriots.
The Philadelphia Eagles thought they had a star when they signed edge rusher Bryce Huff to a 3-year, $51 million free-agent contract in 2024.
Just 2 years later, and after Huff became 1 of the biggest free-agent busts in franchise history, he’s decided to step away from football to start a company focused on preventing fires started from lithium-ion batteries.
“Bryce Huff is retiring from the NFL and starting a company called Naberstone, which he says will build safety infrastructure to help reduce fire risk from lithium-ion batteries,” The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov wrote on his official X account on Thursday.
Huff played 1 season with the Eagles in 2024 and was traded to the San Francisco 49ers before the 2025 season.
“BREAKING: 49ers DEBryce Huff just announced that he’s retiring from the NFL on his Instagram,” NFL reporter Chase Senior wrote on his official X account. “I was looking forward to seeing what he could do on passing downs alongside Nick Bosa, Osa Odighizuwa and Mykel Williams. The 49ers will save $5+ million in 2026 and around $11 million in 2027 with him stepping away. Huff had 45 pressures and 29 hurries for the Niners last season.”
Huff announced his retirement via a video posted to his Instagram account.
“Grateful for the game,” Huff wrote, “the next chapter starts now.”
Bryce Huff Predicted as Salary Cap Casualty
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell put Huff on its list of likely salary cap casualties this offseason on March 2.
In his 1 season in Philadelphia, Huff was relegated to the bench behind Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith as his team rolled to a Super Bowl win.
The Eagles traded Huff to the 49ers for a conditional 2026 5th round pick in June 2025.
Huff was on the field when the 49ers upset the Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Round in Philadelphia. He had 30 tackles, 4.0 sacks, 6 TFL, and 15 QB hits in his 1st season in San Francisco.
“Huff is still a productive player, but he’s owed $16.9 million (in 2026) by the 49ers, who might need to put that money elsewhere,” Barnwell wrote on Monday. “Huff is small and unimposing enough for opponents to attack him in the run game, but he’s fast around the edge and even has surprising power at times as a pass rusher. A reunion with former Jets and 49ers coach Robert Saleh might be in the cards, even after the Titans agreed to acquire fellow ex-Jets edge Jermaine Johnson via trade last week.”
Bryce Huff Lit Into Eagles Following Trade
Following the trade, Huff went off on the Eagles during an interview with The SFNiners YouTube Channel.
In San Francisco, Huff was reunited with his head coach on the New York Jets with defensive coordinator Saleh, who was fired just 5 games into the 2024 season.
“There’s a plethora of things that went down,” Huff said. “I don’t wanna get into specifics. Being in the league for five years, I kinda knew what it felt like for me to be in a good situation. I gotta 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 training camp if I’m being honest. So when everything popped off, it was just like ‘Yeah, all right let’s get to work.’”
Huff, who complained about being uncomfortable in Vic Fangio’s defensive scheme, was a non-factor almost from the moment he walked through the door in Philadelphia.