49ers' Bryce Huff Trade Graded By ESPN

The San Francisco 49ers agreed on a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles to bring edge rusher Bryce Huff to the Bay Area in exchange for what was initially reported as a "mid-round" draft pick.

We now officially know the exchange included a conditional fifth-round pick that could turn into a fourth based on Huff's performance with the 49ers.

Judging by both teams' situations, you could argue that they both came away winners here.

San Francisco was facing a mass exodus of quality defensive players this offseason and needed help on the edge opposite of Nick Bosa. For Philadelphia, they were clearly not in favor of keeping Huff after a letdown season resulted in him being a healthy scratch in the Eagles' Super Bowl win.

What do the grades say?

Pretty similar. ESPN believes both teams benefitted equally and earned a B+ in the deal.

On the San Fran side, Seth Walder writes: "This is a pretty reasonable play for San Francisco. As poorly as Huff played last season, there's still plenty to like in his history, and his pass rush win rate remained solid despite his struggles.

"Though that shows Huff slowing down, it's still a better-than-average get-off for an edge rusher."

The best part of the deal for the 49ers is the cost financially. Huff had restructured his contract with Philly to make this work, allowing San Francisco to just under $8 million for the year. Philadelphia is stuck paying more, but the restructure is much more beneficial than being responsible for his three-year, $51.1 million contract without the player.

The Eagles benefit as they get to unload a player who did not meet on-field expectations last season and be rewarded with a high Day 3 draft pick.

"From 2020 to 2022, Huff recorded a 26% pass rush win rate at edge -- a top-10 number at the position had he qualified ..." Walder continued about Huff's 10-sack season that earned him that contract ahead of last year.

"His win rate fell to a career-low 19% (which is still higher than average), but the sacks weren't there (2.5) and his playing time dipped before he missed time in the second half of the season to have wrist surgery."

The Eagles still have a loaded roster and this departure shouldn't do too much to their pass rush depth with them bringing back a collection of formidable pieces in Nolan Smith Jr., Azeez Ojulari and Joshua Uche. Plus, Philadelphia gets to save a bit of cap space by shipping off some of Huff's contract.

Everything seems even right now, but that's the funny thing about grading trades with over three months until the season starts. Things can happen one way or another to cause drastic reconsideration for the true winner here.

The Niners are banking on reuniting Huff with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh (his head coach during his career-year with the New York Jets in 2023) will pay major dividends.