The San Francisco 49ers got some shocking news on Thursday as edge rusher Bryce Huff announced he is retiring from the NFL.
The Niners now need an edge rusher, which could lead them to a pretty obvious signing in Joey Bosa.
The brother of Nick Bosa, Joey is a free agent and made sense as a fit with San Francisco even before the Huff news. The older Bosa brother had a decent 2025 campaign with the Buffalo Bills as he recorded five sacks in 15 games played. That's better than the four sacks that Huff put up in 15 games.
San Francisco was the worst team in the NFL when it came to sacking the quarterback. It had the fewest sacks of any team in the NFL (20) and struggled to get any sort of meaningful pressure from edge rushers.
A big part of that had to do with the fact that both Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams were lost for the season due to ACL tears.
San Francisco tried to address the need by bringing back a familiar face in Clelin Ferrell and trading for Keion White, but it was not enough to make an impactful difference.
Getting Nick Bosa and Williams back should help, but the addition of Joey Bosa could at least help with some added depth at edge.
He shouldn't come at a steep cost. This is not the same Joey Bosa who was considered an elite edge rusher during his best seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers.
The 49ers would still be wise to draft at least one edge rusher next month in the NFL Draft. They need to find someone, or maybe a combination of players, to pair with Nick Bosa. If they can put together a solid pass rush under new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, then perhaps they can have a strong enough defense to make a legitimate playoff run.
This isn't the first time a defensive player has surprisingly retired for the 49ers. Chris Borland and Patrick Willis come to mind as two other players who somewhat shockingly decided to call it quits.
Huff may have been maligned for his play at times last season, but he did the best he could given the circumstances. Had he not been the focal point for opposing teams to focus on, he probably would have had more success.
Alas, now the Niners have to adjust, and bringing in Joey Bosa seems like an obvious move.