We are officially in the middle of the “dead” period in the NFL offseason waiting for the start of training camp next month. However, there seems to be no shortage of storylines surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles.
Former Eagles edge rusher Bryce Huff took a shot at his former team and the fans on the Caps off Podcast earlier this week.
Huff cashed in on his best season of his career in 2023 with the New York Jets rackin gup 10 sacks, signing a three-year, $51 million deal with the Eagles. It did not pan out for either party. Huff struggled to produce and dealt with a ron ligament in his groin area that sidelined him for five weeks. He was also a healthy scratch during the team’s Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The former pass rusher claims he knew the vibes were off in his first week of camp with the team.
“We had done walk-throughs without pads on,” Huff recalled. “Really in OTAs, I knew it was kind of off. We didn’t do any pass rush drills the entire OTAs. I was like, they brought me here to rush, but all we did the entire spring camp was drop in coverage. So I thought that was kind of weird.”
Huff also mentioned Vic Fangio’s public comments earlier that summer about his belief that Huff was not at a point to play on base downs.
“The D.C. goes in the media and says I don’t think he can stop the run, I don’t think he can do the job right now. The fans just ate it up and lost it,” Huff said.
“Being an undrafted guy, fans were always supportive in New York. To go there and grilling me before we even put pads on, like what are we doing right now?”, Huff said.
Since joining the Eagles, Fangio has not held back his thoughts on players who were not meeting his expectations during practice, which serves as a key indicator for the veteran coordination on who deserves to play and who doesn’t.
Here were the questions and responses from Fangio during his press conference on July 25, 2024 Huff was referencing during training camp.
In New York, DE Bryce Huff was essentially a pass-rush specialist. You guys have him starting here. Why do you think he’ll be able to be a guy that can play on base downs? (Jeff McLane)
VIC FANGIO: “Well, I think everybody thought he could, and knowing that the floor was just rush downs, but he’s taken the challenge on very well, and I do think he has the talent to do what we want him to do. It’s just he’s got to get familiar with doing it. So, it will be a work in progress. Does he look like he can do it today? No. I do think eventually he will.”
You said DE Bryce Huff isn’t ready to be that guy yet. What does he need to do to become that guy? (Bob Brookover)
VIC FANGIO: “Constantly show improvement. It’s more of a feel. He has the talent to do it, but he’s never been asked to do it I don’t think in college nor with the Jets.
So, it’s new and he has to become more proficient at it.”
As we know, it did not work out for Huff and the Eagles.
He had just 13 tackles, four quarterback hits, three tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble in just 12 games in 2024. He missed five due to the groin injury and then also tried to play through a hand injury that Fangio did mention.
Huff shared his thoughts on his final game dressed as an Eagle in that Super Bowl win.
"It was a cool experience, but not being up for that game, it doesn't mean that much to me," Huff said.
"I wasn't up for that game. I didn't play. I'm going to call a spade a spade. The way it went down, the way I found out I wasn't playing, I lost so much respect for the people involved," Huff added.
On June 3 of last year, the day after the Eagles traded Huff to the San Francisco 49ers for a conditional 2026 fifth round pick that ultimately was used in a trade with the Chicago Bears, Fangio was asked why it didn’t work out with Huff.
“Well, I think the one thing is, he was getting better, and when he hurt his hand, he tried to play with it for a couple weeks,” Fangio said. “It wasn’t going good because he was reluctant to use his hand. Then when they operated on it, he had to play with a big cast on his hand, which basically rendered his hand useless and then rendered his arm useless because you can’t use your hand. That really had an effect on him.”
Fangio also mentioned the addition of the younger linebackers that forced their way into playing time.
“We just came out of draft season and the first thing you see when they put a guy’s name up on the board is his hand size, arm length. Well, he lost all that. While he was out, Nolan [Smith] got more snaps, Jalyx [Hunt] got more snaps and things evolve, but I think he’ll do fine in San Francisco.”
Quite simply, Huff did not play well enough to warrant playing time in Fangio's defense that season.
The 2024 unit will be remembered as arguably one of the best in team history despite not dominating across the board statistically, although Huff claimed in the interview that there was a lack of chemistry.
The defense did allow the fewest yards, the fewest big plays allowed (80), allowed the second-fewest points per game (17.8), third-best opponent third-down conversion rate (35.5%) despite having leage average pass rush numbers.
Huff played in 15 games making eight starts with the Niners collecting four sacks, the second-most in his six-year career.
This past March, Huff announced his retirement at the age of 27.
While Huff will always have a Super Bowl ring and a place in that team’s history, it won’t be because of anything he did on the field. Instead, his lack of production in his lone season in Philadelphia is what will land him among the franchise’s all‑time busts.
