Source: Eagles closing in on trading pass rusher Bryce Huff to 49ers for draft pick
Huff, who signed a three-year deal last offseason worth $51.1 million, managed just 2.5 sacks in 12 games.
The Eagles are working toward a deal that would send edge rusher Bryce Huff to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a mid-round pick, according to a league source.
ESPN was first to report the news of the move, which wouldn’t be finalized until after June 1 to ensure the Eagles can spread Huff’s cap hit across two seasons.
The Eagles signed Huff to a three-year contract worth up to $51.1 million with $34 million guaranteed last offseason with the expectation that the 27-year-old would take on a prominent role in the team’s edge-rusher rotation. He spent the first four seasons of his career as an efficient situational rusher for the New York Jets but quickly fell out of favor with the Eagles as a pass rusher and on early downs after a turbulent start to the season.
Even after returning from a midseason wrist injury that landed him on injured reserve, Huff was a healthy scratch for Super Bowl LIX and finished the year with just 2½ sacks and 13 total tackles in 285 defensive snaps. The Eagles instead turned to the young duo of Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt on the edge and spent this offseason adding rotational rushers in free agency like Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche.
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A few days before the Super Bowl, Huff told The Inquirer that he spent most of last season frustrated by negativity surrounding his play, which originally stemmed from Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio conceding that Huff had yet to prove he was “an every-down player” during training camp.
“I would calm down and then look at my phone, and some new [stuff] would pop up,” Huff said. “It was just one thing after another.
“I had to make that adjustment to this environment. I know there was a lot of stuff going on outside of me. I’m the type of guy where football isn’t just what I do. It’s a part of who I am. So when you see all the negativity, it does do something to you when you’ve never experienced that kind of stuff before.
“I was just walking around mad all day. I know that’s not healthy, mentally or physically, but I got that under control, and I was really able to dial in and do my thing.”
Huff notably was absent during the first open practice of the Eagles’ organized team activities on Thursday, although it’s worth noting that the spring sessions are voluntary.
To help facilitate a trade to the 49ers — which would reunite him with former Jets coach and current Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh — a league source said Huff already agreed to a contract restructuring. The reworked deal will result in the Eagles clearing roughly $15 million in cap space in 2025.
The Eagles traded away C.J. Gardner-Johnson earlier this offseason with a similar goal of trying to gain future flexibility with players like Smith, Jalen Carter, Quinyon Mitchell, and Cooper DeJean on rookie contracts but likely to command lucrative deals over the next few years.
Inquirer staff writer Jeff McLane contributed to this article.