A year ago, the Eagles saw Bryce Huff as an answer. A $51 million bet on speed, disruption, and untapped potential. They had just moved on from Haason Reddick, and Huff, then 25, was fresh off a 10-sack breakout season in New York. He was entering his prime. The Eagles thought they were buying low on a pass rusher about to take the leap. Instead, less than 15 months later, they’re offloading him for a mid-round pick and breathing a quiet sigh of relief.

By the time the 2025 offseason rolled around, it was clear something was off. He now skips OTAs and doesn’t seem to be part of the Eagles’ 2025 plans at all. After Brandon Graham retired and Josh Sweat left, there was still anticipation that Huff would remain and take on a bigger role, even after Philly signed Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari in free agency. However, his persistent absence, as verified by several reports, suggests a shared desire to move on.

According to multiple reports, including ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Philadelphia and San Francisco have agreed to a post-June 1 trade that will send Huff to the 49ers. The deal won’t be official until after the calendar flips, due to NFL cap rules, but the framework is in place. And in a roundabout way, it benefits both sides: the 49ers get a fastball off the edge, and the Eagles get to move on from a move that didn’t work.

Bryce Huff joined the Eagles last spring as a player with promising upside. However, 2024 did not go as planned. He struggled with injuries and limited snaps, finishing the year with only 2.5 sacks and missing several games due to wrist surgery. When the team advanced to the Super Bowl, Huff was not active for the game. With veteran edge rusher Brandon Graham retired and Josh Sweat now with Arizona, many expected Huff to take on a bigger role alongside Nolan Smith in 2025. Even after Philadelphia added Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari, there was still hope for Huff to contribute. But reportedly, Huff skipped voluntary offseason workouts, casting doubt on his future with the team.

General manager Howie Roseman had called Huff’s story “yet to be written” back in February, but the pages are clearly being torn out. On Friday, the biggest sign that Philly is ready to turn the page emerged. For San Francisco, this is another calculated step in a broader defensive line overhaul. After releasing Leonard Floyd, Maliek Collins, and Javon Hargrave, the Niners used the 11th overall pick on edge rusher Mykel Williams and added Alfred Collins and C.J. West in the second and fourth rounds.

However, they required an experienced player with potential because Nick Bosa was the only returning starter. Huff might be a nightmare off the edge opposite Bosa if he returns to anything close to his 2023 Jets form, when he led the league in pressure rate and recorded 10 sacks. And let’s not ignore the Saleh factor. Huff had his best season under his previous coach. He might recover more quickly if he is reunited in a system where he is already familiar with the terminology and expectations. But while this trade is about adding juice for the Niners, for the Eagles, it’s about trimming the fat.

The Eagles just made $17M disappear like Bryce Huff at practice

This contract is a huge financial victory for Philadelphia. Given his diminishing role and absence from the team’s plans, Huff’s 2025 salary of about $17 million, fully guaranteed, felt like a sunk cost. But Huff consented to a revised agreement that will divide the financial burden between the two teams to facilitate a transfer. Schefter claims that the 49ers will shoulder the remaining $7.95 million this season, leaving the Eagles to pay just $9.05 million in salary.

That salary split might seem small on the surface, but in the grand scheme of the Eagles’ cap strategy, it’s significant. Cutting Huff outright would have triggered a $21.4 million dead cap hit—an option that wasn’t even realistic since the team had already used its two post-June 1 designations on Darius Slay and James Bradberry. But trading Huff after June 1 changes the math dramatically.

Under post-June 1 trade rules, the Eagles will take just a $3 million cap hit in each of the next four seasons. More significantly, they will save $4.4 million on the 2025 salary ceiling, which will only increase in the upcoming seasons. To put it another way, they were able to dump a dissatisfied player, save a draft pick, and avoid a major contract mishap. So, the Eagles just hit a jackpot. And for Huff? Well, this trade, in a sense, is a reset button for everyone involved.