Eagles Targeting Return for $51 Million Edge Rusher

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Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Bryce Huff.

It’s a testament to the depth and talent on the Philadelphia Eagles defense — and the genius work of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio — that the team has been able to sustain the loss of some of their best edge rushers and continued to dominate opponents.

Now, with just 3 games left and the Eagles sitting at 12-2 and on a 10-game winning streak, they could be getting some of that pass rushing talent back.

“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. The Eagles signed Huff as a free agent after he spent his first four seasons with the Jets. In 10 games this year, Huff has recorded 2.5 sacks with three tackles for loss and four QB hits.”

Huff has missed the last 4 games for the Eagles, who travel to face the Washington Commanders in an NFC East matchup in Week 16. He’s also not 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 rookie defensive end Jalyx Hunt 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.

“Huff posted 10 sacks for the New York Jets last season but has had a disappointing start to his time in Philadelphia,” ESPN’s Tim McManus wrote on November 20. “He has posted 2.5 sacks and four quarterback hits through 10 games, well short of expectations that came with the lucrative three-year, $51 million free agent contract he signed this offseason. He has been wearing a cast on the wrist for the past couple weeks. His playing time has dipped since the injury cropped up, averaging just 11 snaps per game over the past three weeks compared to 28 snaps over the first seven games.”

Eagles Signed Huff to Massive Free Agent Contract

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.”

While Huff only had 7.5 sacks through his first 3 seasons with the Jets, he had a breakout year in 2023 with 10.0 sacks.