The San Francisco 49ers took a flier on edge rusher Bryce Huff last offseason, opting to trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for his services by exchanging a day-three conditional draft pick.
The hope was Huff, reuniting with then-defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, could return to the kind of player he was previously with the New York Jets, emulating a 10-sack campaign that made him something of a household name before flaming out in Philly a year later.
Well, the trade worked out... sort of.
Huff finished with a team-best four sacks (that's not a lot, but neither were the Niners' league-low 20 sacks as a team), and his presence helped alleviate the season-ending ACL tear suffered by Nick Bosa in Week 3.
Bosa's return, along with fellow defensive end Mykel Williams' own ACL recovery, should infuse some help back into San Francisco's D-line rotation.
Yet it's fair to wonder if the 49ers are better off without Huff moving forward.
49ers have no easy answers to looming Bryce Huff question
Here are the facts surrounding Huff's future:
- Saleh is gone now, off to the Tennessee Titans as their new head coach. So, that removes any chance of a second-year leap for Huff in the Bay Area under his former Gang Green coach.
- Huff is poised to earn up to $5.39 million in 2026, but he carries zero in guaranteed money.
- A $1 million roster bonus is due on March 13.
Over the Cap valued Huff's 2025 efforts at $7.39 million, so the would-be $5-plus million cap hit should be viewed as a relative bargain.
However, it's no secret Huff isn't exactly known for above-average run defense, and the Niners spent considerable effort last offseason upgrading that portion of their defense, meaning Huff's best role going forward would be as a situational third-down pass-rusher.
In that regard, it might be worth retaining him, especially if he doesn't have to bear the brunt of opponents' efforts to block him in light of Bosa's return.
On the flip side, though, San Francisco can fairly wonder if making Huff a cap casualty this offseason is the smarter play. Doing so would save that $5.39 million while opening up the door to find a better-rounded defensive end who isn't as big a liability in run defense.
And it also is wholly contingent upon Saleh's replacement, who may (or may not) see Huff as someone worth retaining.
There's a lot at play here, none of which is conclusive.