Former Philadelphia Eagles pass rusher Bryce Huff wanted out this offseason, even after winning a Super Bowl with the team last season. He signed a lucrative free agent deal with the Eagles worth $17 million per year in the 2024 offseason, but clearly wasn't happy with the situation. In his one season with Philadelphia, Huff played in 12 games last season with the Eagles, recording 13 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
The Eagles traded Huff earlier in the offseason to the San Francisco 49ers for a conditional mid-round draft pick. The 49ers are also having his salary partly paid by the Eagles.
Why Bryce Huff wanted to be traded by the Eagles
Huff knew early on in his career with the Eagles that his tenure with the team wasn't going to last long and wanted to be traded as soon as he could be.
"If I'm being 100% honest with you, I wanted a trade fairly early on," Huff said to Brad Graham of the SF Niners YouTube channel (h/t On SI). "And just cause of how things went in Philly, I knew pretty early on it wasn't a fit.
Huff originally wanted to get traded by the Eagles before the trade deadline last season, but had to opt to get traded in the offseason. Huff had to undergo wrist surgery, which kept him sidelined for about a month before returning at the end of the regular season.
"I knew a trade wasn't going to happen during the 2024 season. But I talked to my agent about it and was like, when its all set and done, I might need to step to put myself in the best position. I kind of knew where it was headed fairly early on into the season."
Before his time with the Eagles, Huff had one of the best seasons of his career with the New York Jets in 2023, recording 29 tackles and 10 sacks. Despite being one of the league's best defenses last season, Huff was never able to find his footing.
Huff enters a better situation for his career in San Francisco where he will be reunited with his former head coach during his tenure with the Jets, Robert Saleh. Saleh was hired as the 49ers' new defensive coordinator this offseason, while Huff rejoins the coach that helped lead him to a breakout season in New York.
Having someone that Huff is comfortable working with on defense, will help him get back to the high production that he had with the Jets.