Eagles Make Major Announcement on $51 Million Edge Rusher

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Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Bryce Huff.

The Philadelphia Eagles haven’t gotten much of a return on investment when it comes to the 3-year, $51.1 million free agent contract signed by edge rusher Bryce Huff in March 2024.

If Huff can return from injury and make an impact for the Eagles in the final 2 games of the regular season and, hopefully, a run to an NFC championship and Super Bowl, all will be forgiven.

Huff has missed the Eagles’ last 5 games since undergoing wrist surgery in November.

“The Eagles also announced they have activated defensive end Bryce Huff from injured reserve to the active roster,” Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams wrote on December 28. “Huff returned to practice Dec. 18 after spending four weeks on injured reserve following a wrist procedure. In 10 games, he has 10 tackles, 2.5 sacks, four quarterback hits, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble.  Huff returns to a rotation that features Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith and rookie Jalyx Hunt.”

The Eagles are 12-3 and have 2 home games to close out the regular season against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17 and against the New York Giants in Week 18.

The Eagles have been building up to Huff’s return in recent weeks.

“The Eagles are getting a key defensive player back on the field this week,” Pro Football Talk’s Myles Simmons wrote on December 18. “Philadelphia announced on Wednesday that the club has opened the 21-day practice window for defensive end Bryce Huff. Huff underwent a procedure on his wrist in November after playing through an issue for a few weeks.”

Huff isn’t the only edge rusher for the Eagles who has gone down with an injury this season — 15-year veteran Brandon Graham was ruled out for the rest of the season after tearing his triceps in a Week 12 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Injury May Have Held Huff Back Early in Season

When the Eagles began to turn to Hunt, a rookie, over Huff in the middle of the season, it caused more than a few eyebrows to be raised. As it turned out, Huff was dealing with a major issue with his wrist at the time that would end up requiring surgery and landing him on the injured reserve.

The Eagles paid big for Huff after the 6-foot-3, 255-pound Memphis product went from undrafted to one of the NFL’s elite edge rushers in 4 seasons with the Jets and signed him to a 3-year, $51.1 million contract in March 2024.

“The Eagles’ decision to invest heavily in Huff was largely based on his impressive pressure rates with the Jets,” wrote Heavy.com’s Beth Mishler-Elmore on November 11. “In 2023, he led the NFL with a 21.8% pressure rate (minimum 250 pass rushes), per Next Gen Stats. That efficiency created high expectations for his impact in Philadelphia.”

Eagles Already Have Depth at Edge Rusher

Huff’s return will be welcome but it’s not necessarily going to change their approach on defense. Sweat leads the team with 8.0 sacks and Smith is second with 6.5 sacks.

That means if Huff wants to be on the field in critical situations he’ll have to show he can make an impact getting to the quarterback. That probably also means taking snaps back from Hunt, who only has 1.5 sacks on the year.