According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the San Francisco 49ers are finalizing a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for defensive end Bryce Huff, who had a career-best 10-sack season with then-head coach Robert Saleh and the New York Jets back in 2023.
It's not exactly great news for incumbent Niners pass-rusher Yetur Gross-Matos.
Gross-Matos, whom San Francisco picked up off the free-agent scrap heap a year ago after four relatively pedestrian years with the Carolina Panthers, missed the first half of 2024 with a knee injury suffered in the preseason. Yet the 2020 second-round NFL Draft pick out of Penn State flashed moments of promise late, finishing the year with four sacks and seven quarterback hits over 11 games played.
What was more encouraging for Gross-Matos entering 2025 was how the 49ers didn't include him in their widespread changes for the defensive line, which included parting ways with more established pass-rushers like Leonard Floyd. It seemed to indicate Gross-Matos would be hanging around into year two of his Niners tenure despite them using their top pick in this year's draft on another edge defender, Georgia's Mykel Williams.
Huff's addition changes all that.
Bryce Huff endangers Yetur Gross-Matos' roster spot with 49ers
Cap space isn't an issue for the suddenly cost-conscious 49ers, but a valued roster spot might be of interest. Either way, should the Niners release Gross-Matos after June 1, they'd save over $4.8 million in cap space against $4.653 in dead money, per Over the Cap.
That's of interest. However, Huff's prior connection to Saleh in the Big Apple is worth noting. Sure, San Francisco showed pre-draft interest in Gross-Matos back in 2020 when Saleh was still its defensive coordinator during his first tenure.
But, Huff certainly has recency bias. And, if Saleh truly wants Huff over Gross-Matos, it's going to be hard justifying keeping the latter.
Of course, boasting too many pass-rushers is rarely a thing, and there's a scenario where the 49ers add Huff while retaining Gross-Matos, too, using the tandem as a backup pair to support both Williams and All-Pro defensive end Nick Bosa.
That said, Huff's pending addition seems to be a direct threat to Gross-Matos' immediate future.
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