The Eagles’ free agent splurge on edge defender Bryce Huff in the 2024 offseason did not go as planned, and the reigning Super Bowl champions recently agreed to a trade sending Huff to the 49ers, cutting bait after just one season. While it was clear that Huff was not a good fit in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system, Fangio himself was gracious in his comments about his former charge.
Fangio recently told reporters, including PHLY’s Zach Berman, that he believed Huff was showing improvement before suffering a wrist injury that required him to play two games with a hard cast on his hand. Huff was placed on injured reserve in November so he could undergo a wrist procedure and was activated for the final two games of the regular season.
“I think the one thing is, he was getting better, and when he hurt his hand, he tried to play with it for a couple weeks,” Fangio said. “It wasn’t going good because he was reluctant to use his hand.”
Interestingly, though, Huff appeared in a season-low (to that point) six snaps the game before he began wearing a hard cast, and he notched one of his 2.5 sacks during his first game with the cast. When he returned to the field following the wrist operation, he still had to wear a cast, which Fangio says further limited his effectiveness.
“Then when they operated on it, he had to play with a big cast on his hand, which basically rendered his hand useless and then rendered his arm useless because you can’t use your hand,” Fangio added. “That really had an effect on him.”
Fangio went on to reiterate that Huff’s inability to properly use his hand and arm negatively impacted his performance before adding, “I think he’ll do fine in San Francisco.”
Of course, there is no reason for Fangio to offer anything but niceties for a player who was simply unable to meet expectations. The 49ers, though, hope there is at least some truth to Fangio’s words and that a return to full health will allow their trade acquisition to recapture the form that made him a desirable commodity on last year’s market.
Huff, 27, will be reunited with Robert Saleh, who served as the Jets’ head coach during Huff’s breakout platform campaign with Gang Green in 2023, in which he recorded 10 sacks and 21 quarterback hits despite appearing in just 42% of the team’s defensive snaps. Saleh, who was fired by the Jets during the 2024 season, returned to the 49ers this offseason to reprise his role as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator, a position he held from 2017-21.
Huff will certainly benefit from playing opposite Nick Bosa, though he will have to compete for reps with first-round draftee Mykel Williams.
I like the fact that the Eagles aren’t afraid to move on when they find a player isn’t a good fit for them.
I tend to think Huff will basically fill whatever role the 49ers plan for him. Expectations for him are way down now, so it shouldn’t be hard for Huff to meet or exceed them.
Being reunited with Saleh should benefit him. It wouldn’t be a shock if Huff has 8.5 or more sacks this season. For whatever reason, he simply wasn’t a fit for Vic Fangio and his system.