The South Philly air smells like fresh-cut grass and snack truck exhaust outside the NovaCare Complex. Inside, things should be buzzing. Helmets clashing, coaches like Nick Sirianni shouting through drills, rookies sprinting like their futures depend on it (they do!). But there’s a quiet hanging in the hedges. Players glance around for a familiar No. 0 that isn’t there. Reporters scan the roster, one name short. A champion’s silhouette is missing.

Having played only one season in Philadelphia, Bryce Huff signed a three-year contract with the Eagles in 2024. But he never became a trusted part of the Eagles’ core group. Per Tyrone Johnson of 97.5 Fanatic Philadelphia, “Eagles themselves showed they do not trust him.” 

During the 2024 season, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, confirmed Huff will be part of his plans only if he improves his game. “I do think he has the talent to do what we want him to do… So, it will be a work in progress. Does he look like he can do it today? No. I do think he eventually will,” Fangio said.

Now, if the recent reports are to be believed, Bryce Huff has opted out of every voluntary workout the Eagles scheduled this spring. Jeff McLane’s report stacks the facts with a zinger: Huff is “unlikely to be part of the Eagles’ plans for 2025.” The words landed in the locker room like a rogue punt, bouncing at odd angles no one wanted to field.

Skipping sunshine reps is bold when there’s $16.75 million guaranteed on the books and a three-year, $51.1 million deal still warm from the printer. Yet the bigger twist is that his 2.5 sacks in 12 games last season never matched the fireworks of his Jets film—or the payout Philly front-loaded to watch them up close. Even his Super Bowl cameo devolved into street-clothes duty on game day. A champion’s ring can double as a paperweight when coaches trust other pass-rushers to finish the job.

So, what’s the play? Trading Huff after June 1 saves cap and preserves his surgically clean medical file—valuable currency when rival GMs start panic-dialing for edge help. Nick Sirianni swears it’s all voluntary, but voluntary feels flexible when money meets leverage. Huff, for his part, seems happy to protect the asset he calls a body while Philadelphia protects the asset it calls a balance sheet.

The cascading effect is a 2025 depth chart already erasing his name in pencil. Cornerbacks joust, safeties shuffle, and linebackers audition while a giant Huff-shaped hole hovers over the edge group. “Next man up” is coach-speak, sure, but it hits different when the absent man is the one who just helped raise a Lombardi.

Bryce Huff in OTAs, opt-outs, and the league-wide vibe

Across the NFL, OTAs bloomed this week like synchronized wildflowers: twenty clubs opened their doors on May 27, with seven-on-sevens snapping in every time zone. Phase Three is still non-contact, yet fans devour every clipped highlight as if it’s Week 1. Remember, these sessions are voluntary—an asterisk veterans love to circle in red ink.

Philadelphia’s calendar is front-loaded: OTAs on May 27–28, May 30, June 2–3, and June 5, all leading to a single-day mandatory minicamp on June 10. Reporters used the early practices to ogle Cooper DeJean toggling from nickel to outside corner, Andrew Mukuba chasing first-team reps, and a genuine battle brewing at safety. Still, every observation carries an unspoken suffix: “…and wow, it’s quieter without Huff.”

League-wide, skipping spring has become the polished veterans’ protest song; Micah Parsons, Von Miller, and even Tyreek Hill have sampled some verses. The Eagles, though, normally sell an all-in culture—Jason Kelce once called missing OTAs “leaving reps on the table.” That’s why a conspicuous vacancy now feels more like a statement than a scheduling preference.

The clock ticks toward June 10, when voluntary turns compulsory. If Bryce Huff is still AWOL, then the whisper factory won’t need overtime. Front-office calculators already know a post-June 1 deal shaves millions off 2025’s ledger; edge-needy contenders already know a proven pressure artist might suddenly clear waivers. The question isn’t whether the phone will ring—it’s who answers first.

Philadelphia’s front office mastered the tush-push; it may soon attempt the cap-space shuffle. Whether Huff ends up sprinting from another tunnel or cashing checks in midnight green, one fact remains: absence, like edge speed, bends the pocket around it. And everyone’s watching to see which collapses first.