After six years in the NFL, 49ers defensive end Bryce Huff is calling it a career. Huff announced his retirement on Instagram on Thursday (via Nick Wagoner of ESPN).
Huff, 27, was traded to the 49ers last offseason and appeared in 15 games during the regular season. He recorded four sacks and six tackles for loss, the second-best production of his career that was still disappointing relative to double-digit totals in both categories in 2023.
The former Memphis standout signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and carved out a rotational role on the defensive line as a rookie. He put up 7.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss in his first three years, though peripheral metrics like his pass rush win rate suggested he had more to offer.
That turned out to be the case in 2023, when he put up 10 sacks and 10 tackles for loss to go along with a 22.9% PRWR that ranked third among defensive linemen, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Huff peaked at the right time and earned a three-yera, $51MM payday from the Eagles with $34MM in guaranteed money.
A disappointing follow-up effort led the Eagles to reconsider their investment, and they ended up trading Huff to the 49ers for a conditional Day 3 pick. He rebounded upon reuniting with Robert Saleh, his head coach in New York, leading the 49ers with 46 pressures.
Huff was due just over $17MM in 2026 with a $5.4MM cap hit, per OverTheCap, but his retirement will wipe both of those numbers off San Francisco’s books. The 49ers will now be looking for edge-rushing depth with Yetur Gross-Matos and Clelin Ferrell also hitting free agency.
Huff will leave the NFL with 81 appearances (21 starts), 24.0 sacks, and 26 tackles for loss to his name, along with just over $40MM in career earnings. In his retirement announcement, he revealed his post-playing plans of starting a company to build safety infrastructure to reduce fire risk when using lithium batteries.
4 sacks in 8 games, he was not a difference maker. Sucks for depth, but atleast his salary is off the books.
I figured he’d be Tennessee bound. Guess this is it instead. He could never play the run, but he was a really good designated pass rusher for a couple years on the Jets. He worked out great for an undrafted free agent, even if he worked out poorly as a big ticket free agent.
No!!! Now they need an edge rusher
This is amazing. The Eagles took such flack for signing that guy to a big contract and he just didn’t work and looked unplayable on tape. He even got put back with his favorite coach and he still couldn’t get anything done. I hope he doesn’t have problems in his background. He certainly now has generational wealth that he can just kind of…hang out with.
Huff actually looked pretty good at times last year. In Philidelphia he was playing completely out of position, and was tasked with responsibilities he is not equipped to fulfill.
With the 49ers, he did pretty good as a rotational passrusher, but once Bosa and Mykel went down, Huff was asked to be their every down EDGE, and he isn’t built to take that role on.
If you can limit Huff’s snaps, and solely use him as a speed rushing threat off the edge, then he will perform well. Although, I will say Huff held up better against the run then I expected him to based off previous scouting reports and stats.
Over the course of the season, Huff got worn down, minor injuries started stacking up, and his performance suffered as a result.
This year, he was supposed to again play the rotational speed rusher role on passing downs opposite of Bosa. Mykel would likely move from the EDGE to rushing from an interior spot, and from left to right they would have had Bosa, Osa, Mykel, and Huff. I would have gladly taken that going into this season, and I think Huff would have had a real bounceback season. Guess we will never know, but wish him the best. That is a very specific plan for his future endeavors, so it sounds like he already has something in the works, but hope he succeeds whatever he does.
Now, I would expect to see the 49ers go out and target Joey Bosa or a veteran speed rusher who they can implement off the EDGE when facing obvious passing downs.
It is also plausible Kocurek and Raheem are pretty comfortable and confident with the group of EDGE guys they already have. Even still, I would expect them to go into the draft targeting a speed EDGE rusher likely in the 2nd or 4th Round.
If so, I would expect Kocurek and Raheem to give Keion White and Sam O an increased role and compete with the draft pick to see who gets the pass rushing opps from the EDGE on 3rd down, and to see who will see the field on the occasions when either Nick Bosa or Mykel Williams needs a breather or when they would like to give the defense a different look and kick either Nick or Mykel inside.
I still like a pass rushing foursome of Bosa, Osa, Mykel, and Keion White. I really like the depth Lynch, Kyle, and Kocurek have built along their front, and I fully expect to see a significant increase in production from this group. Alfred Collins, CJ West, Osa O., Evan Anderson, and Seabass are an incredibly talented, versatile, and promising DT group with a very bright future ahead. I fully expect to see especially Collins and West take another step in their development, and they should continue doing what they do best, pushing and collapsing the pocket, taking on double teams to free up their teammates, and clogging the lanes to stop the opposing team’s running game. They likely won’t get a ton of apps to rush the passer, because that is what the 49ers brought Osa in for, but they will get plenty of enough chances to make an impact and improve in that aspect of their game as well.
Osa was exactly what the 49ers needed, and he should be an absolute force alongside the likes of Bosa, Mykel, White, Collins, West, and Sam O. I am not gong to be the least bit surprised to see Osa continue to be among the league leaders in pressures and QB hits from the DT position. Just like when Osa got to work alongside Micah Parsons, we should see him playing at his best working with such a talented and versatile mixture of 49ers DL.