Defensive end Bryce Huff's one-year tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles did not go well.
A year removed from a career-best 10-sack campaign with the New York Jets under then-head coach Robert Saleh, Huff's three-year free-agent contract with Philly soon looked like a flop after picking up just 2.5 sacks in 2024.
So, it made all the sense in the world for Philadelphia to try offloading Huff however possible, and finding a trade partner in the San Francisco 49ers was ideal.
Not just for the Eagles, but also for Huff and Saleh, who's now back in the Bay Area as the Niners' defensive coordinator.
Huff thrived in Saleh's defensive scheme. Not so much with the defensive alignment in Philly.
And that's what the edge defender's former teammate, now-retired defensive tackle Brandon Graham, recently shared along with why Huff should bounce back nicely in San Francisco.
Brandon Graham reveals why Bryce Huff didn't cut it with Eagles (and why he will with 49ers)
Speaking on the Ross Tucker Podcast, Graham dove into why Huff wasn't exactly the best fit with Philadelphia's defense last season:
"I feel like it's all scheme. I've seen different guys flourish in different systems. Then you see them get in another system, it's different. And what they asked of him this year, it just wasn't a great marriage, I would say. Because I know Huff can rush, I see him doing all that, but sometimes it's just different with the type of scheme, what people ask of you and what they want you to be able to do. And maybe it just wasn't that for Vic Fangio or... I mean you don't really know."
49ers fans may recall Fangio, who once coordinated the Niners defense from 2011 through 2014, runs a 3-4 base system, whereas Saleh operates a 4-3 wide-9 scheme.
According to Graham, that made all the difference. Huff's return to Saleh's defense is also something Graham feels could work out for the edge defender:
"I know what it's like playing in that 4-3, wide-9, 'go get it' every play. It's always stop the run on the way to the quarterback, that's the slogan in that type of defense."
Graham also didn't hesitate to call Huff "a baller," and it's not hard to draw conclusions about Saleh's hand-picked acquisition turning into a major force for San Francisco despite not doing so with the Eagles a season ago.
Hat tip toKyle Madson of Niners Wire for the find and transcription.
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