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49ers and Eagles Reporters Clash in Bryce Huff Debate

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nathan Karseno | Last updated Jun 1, 2025 5:13 PM ET

The San Francisco 49ers found who they hope to be a resurgent boost to their pass rush by trading for Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Bryce Huff in exchange for a mid-round draft pick.

Huff is very familiar with Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who was his head coach with the New York Jets in a breakout 10-sack season in 2023.

With the Eagles, however, he did not get anywhere close to that type of production - which puts Eagles general manager Howie Roseman on blast for a rare free-agency misread.

San Francisco is hoping Huff can return to his old ways, but this investment is at a premium price for his services ... so it could be looked at as a low-risk, high-reward move.

Huff helped out the Eagles by restructuring his massive contract so that Philly is only responsible for $9.05 million of his salary rather than $17 million. The cost is practically split with San Fran, who inherits $7.95 million of his 2025 due ... plus the player.

This situation sparked a heated debate with 49ers and Eagles insiders about who got the better end of the deal.

Philadelphia reporter Thomas Mott began saying, "The #Eagles just saved $15 million in cap space PLUS got a draft pick by trading Huff to the 9ers..."

San Francisco reporter David Lombardi countered:

And the Eagles lost about $25 million in cap space by signing Huff, who didn’t fit their system, in the first place.

Is it that hard for people to be unbiased and chart out the big picture? Both teams agreed to this trade for a reason https://t.co/wcLgd1Cn2d
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) May 31, 2025

The original signing of Huff is objectively perceived as a negative. He followed his 10-sack season barely managing to total 2.5 with the Eagles. And a wrist injury forced him to miss five games.

In the Eagles' dominant Super Bowl win ... he was a healthy scratch. Philadelphia had signed Huff to a three-year, $51 million contract ahead of last season.

Lombardi added...

"Philly people need to stop acting like relinquishing a non-GTD year via trade is some sort of win. It’s not.

"The Eagles didn’t 'get off the hook' of 2026 with Bryce Huff— they were never on the hook that season to begin with... They could’ve just cut him for the same 2026 result.

"Philly simply traded away 2026 team control to the 49ers - which is much more potentially valuable to SF, since Huff has demonstrated he fits their system."

Eagles faithful may be happy that they got rid of Huff as smoothly as they did.

But Niners Nation is here to remind them that the damage was already done.

Now it is up to Saleh and head coach Kyle Shanahan to help Huff reclaim his Pro Bowl ability to officially crown San Francisco winners in this trade.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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