Bryce

Huff

Schultz included Dallas Goedert in this report as well. While Goedert being a trade candidate is a surprise to some, the same can’t be said of Huff. Philly signed Huff to a three-year, $51.1 million contract last offseason after he totaled 10 sacks with the Jets in 2023. The Eagles never found much of a role for Huff and he notched just 2.5 sacks in 12 regular season games as a reserve pass-rusher. He was a healthy scratch for the Super Bowl. Huff is worth more to another team than he is to Philly and the contract will make getting him off the books a priority for the Eagles. While they aren’t likely to get much in return, the Eagles should be able to find a suitor for Huff at some point this offseason.

Huff has played intermittently since undergoing in-season surgery on his injured wrist in November. Huff will be replaced by veteran DE Brandon Graham, who makes his triumphant return from injured reserve after tearing his triceps in Week 12. The Eagles also declared QB Tanner McKee, CB Eli Ricks, DB Lewis Cine, OL Darian Kinnard, OL Trevor Keegan and WR Ainias Smith inactive. McKee will serve as the emergency third quarterback.

Eagles beat writers believe Huff, who has played with a hard cast on his injured wrist over the past two weeks, could return at the end of the regular season or the start of the postseason. Huff’s absence is a loss for an Eagles defense featuring a pass rush that Pro Football Focus grades as the NFL’s second best this season. Huff has two sacks and 11 QB hurries this season.

Huff becomes the highest-paid non-quarterback undrafted free agent in league history with the massive deal. He was a much sought after free agent after posting a career-high 29 tackles, ten tackles for loss, and ten sacks in 2023. He hit the quarterback on 7 percent of his pass rush snaps, the third highest rate in the NFL last season. Huff, 25, will be an anchor for a Philly defense that came apart in the second half of the 2023 season. Pro Football Focus graded the Eagles pass rush as the eighth best in the league last season.

Huff is set to enter free agency after posting a career-high 29 tackles, 10 TFLs, and 10 sacks in 2023. Huff joined the Jets as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2020 and has totaled 17.5 sacks in 54 games, showing steady growth over each season. The veteran pass rusher has earned a PFF pass-rush grade of 86.8 or higher over the last two seasons and will be 26 at the start of next year. He should fetch plenty of interest on the open market

Huff was tendered at the second-round level as a restricted free agent. The 25-year-old has emerged as an effective situational pass rusher. Good, though something that can be hard to price on the open market. Huff will need to take another step forward in 2023 to truly cash in next spring.

A former undrafted free agent from the 2020 class, Huff has totaled 7.5 sacks through 37 games with the Jets and the NFL with a 21.3 percent pressure rate among qualified players (min. 150 pass rushes). Assuming he remains with the Jets in 2023, Huff will earn $4.3 million on the tender.

Huff (6'3/255) has been a key contributor for Memphis this season, appearing in all 12 games and accounting for 42 total tackles (14.0 for loss), 6.0 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 16 quarterback hurries. Just named the Defensive Player of the Week in the American Athletic Conference, the senior linebacker should once again receive all-conference honors after being a second team selection last season. Huff, who was given an undrafted free agent grade by Pro Football Network draft analyst Tony Pauline in August, could be be a Day 3 selection given how he’s performed throughout the season.

Pauline is particularly keen on Huff’s activity in defending against the run, calling him “terrific” in that particular aspect of the game. The 6-foot-3, 245-pounder receives a sixth-round grade from the analyst as we creep toward August camp. For the past campaign, Huff registered 30 tackles (5.0 for loss), a pair of sacks and a fumble recovery. We expect those numbers to see significant improvement this year so long as the junior linebacker can maintain his health.