The San Francisco 49ers' trade with the Philadelphia Eagles last offseason for defensive end Bryce Huff was a low-risk, high-reward move, one that aimed to pair the one-time New York Jets pass-rusher back with his former head coach, Robert Saleh, once the latter returned to the Niners as defensive coordinator.
With Saleh gone, and San Francisco pivoting to Raheem Morris as its new coordinator, it's fair to wonder whether or not Huff will fit into the new defensive scheme.
From a schematic standpoint, Morris isn't like Saleh, who helped install the 4-3 Under base front with the 49ers back when head coach Kyle Shanahan took over in 2017. There have been variations of the defense in the years since, but Morris' arrival likely changes a lot of things.
One of them, as Niners Nation's Kyle Posey pointed out, is a five-man front with a linebacker creeping down toward the line of scrimmage. Known as a "penny" alignment, it can help generate more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
And that should aid a San Francisco defense that ranked dead last in sacks last year with 20, Huff having four of them.
Yet Huff's natural fit in this new scheme is questionable, at best, and it could mean his days in the Bay Area are soon coming to a premature close.
Bryce Huff might be the odd man out after 49ers hired Raheem Morris
Huff is still under contract through 2026, although the fact he has zero in guaranteed money for the upcoming year suggests he could easily be a cap casualty, generating over $5 million in cap space if released.
As for the fit, Sports Illustrated's Grant Cohn offered a rather blunt assessment why Morris' arrival is problematic for Huff:
Huff is an edge rusher who rushes from a three-point stance or a four-point stance. He does nothing else well. He can't defend the run, and he can't rush from a two-point stance as an outside linebacker. The Eagles found this out the hard way after giving Huff a three-year, $51.1 million contract.
Cohn also circled All-Pro edge Nick Bosa as someone who might struggle to adjust to Morris' scheme, although Posey contrasted that by saying the new coordinator would have no problem adjusting his defense to get the most out of the 49ers' best pass-rusher.
Interestingly enough, though, Posey also felt Huff could benefit from Morris' arrival.
But that would point to Huff lining up more on the inside instead of toward the edge, forcing recollections of his failed one-year tenure in Philly.
Perhaps Morris has a plan to utilize Huff in a successful way.
However, and especially in light of the contract situation, it wouldn't be shocking whatsoever if the Niners now view Huff as a Saleh holdover who no longer has a viable role within Morris' defense.