SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Francisco 49ers’ new defensive end, Bryce Huff, expected to be traded by the Philadelphia Eagles for much of the last five months. Huff didn’t know when or where he would land, but as he continued to train and wait, he began to anticipate some potential destinations. Among them, a meeting with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh in San Francisco. On May 30, Huff got his wish when the Eagles traded him to the Niners for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
Huff’s transfer from Philadelphia also meant moving away from a scheme that never seemed to suit him as well as the one he played under Saleh in New York from 2021 to 2023. After a 2023 season with the Jets in which he recorded a personal best of 10 sacks and 68 pressures on 312 passing plays, Huff signed a three-year, $51 million contract with the Eagles in the 2024 free agency. But defensive scheme preferred by coordinator Vic Fangio took Huff out of the hand-in-the-dirt, wide-9 technique he had played under Saleh and asked him to stand up as an outside linebacker more often.I had a few places in mind that I was definitely hoping to be traded to. All I was doing was training, staying in my routine as best as possible. Waiting for that call, and fortunately it was to San Francisco, because I’m very familiar with this scheme.
Bryce Huff
The result was disappointing for all parties, as Huff finished last season with 13 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 12 games.If you’re born on a defense with your hand in the ground, it’s an adjustment period to become a stand-up outside linebacker and vice versa. It’s not snapping your fingers and, hey, going to a different scheme. And now you’ve been successful primarily throughout your career with your hand in the dirt going vertically and now you’re standing up. It’s a difference.
Kris Kocurek
Although Huff has been in San Francisco for just under two weeks, he has already made a strong impression by returning to Saleh’s defense. Huff is not expected to become an end on every play against standout pass rusher Nick Bosa, but the team has a clearly defined role for him that focuses on pressuring the passer. San Francisco underwent a significant renovation in the defensive line room in the offseason, cutting the three starters: tackles Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins and edge rusher Leonard Floyd. The 49ers rebuilt the defensive line in the draft, using the number 11 pick on edge Mykel Williams, as well as second and fourth-round picks on tackles Alfred Collins and C.J. West. Williams is expected to win the starting position opposite Bosa, but he has the versatility to move inside in obvious passing situations, which would open the door for Huff to do what he does best.I learned a lot about myself throughout that experience, but in the end it just didn’t work out. You live and learn. The only thing I’m focused on is what I’m doing now, and that’s being a 49er and doing everything I can to help this team win.
Bryce Huff
That type of quick presence is something the Niners have been looking for during much of the last five years. They have included a variety of pass rushers like Samson Ebukam, Drake Jackson, and Floyd with varying degrees of success.I think very highly of him as a pass rusher. He wins at such a high rate. A lot of times, when you look at pass rushers, you look at sacks. Sacks are important, they end drives and that’s what ultimately pays these guys. But his disruption rate in getting the quarterback off his spot and the way he can do it… He wins so fast and so often that coordinators have to account for his presence.
Robert Saleh
But none has reached the level of the edge rusher who best complemented Bosa in his rookie season of 2019: Dee Ford. It’s a name that coach Kyle Shanahan and left tackle Trent Williams invoked without being asked on Tuesday when they were asked about Huff.
A Huff doesn’t care about the comparison and pointed out on Wednesday in his first session with the Bay Area media that Saleh used to show him clips of Ford as a template for what he thought Huff could become. The hope now is that a fresh start in a familiar scheme can help Huff rediscover the formula that turned him from an undrafted free agent out of Memphis in 2020 into the $51 million man of 2024.When you talk about just getting off the ball and how fast he does it, he’ll be the best player we have getting off the ball since Dee Ford. It’s good to beat tackles that way, but it also widens tackles to help with inside pressure and things like that, and it affects the quarterback.
Kyle Shanahan
I always have that [chip] on my shoulders because of how I got to the NFL. I can’t wait to get back out on the field on game days and get out of my position, go after the quarterback, stop the run, just be violent. That’s the only thing I’m thinking about.
Bryce Huff
