Tag: Bryce Huff

Where do the Eagles rank in spending at each position after first wave of free agency?

We’re looking at where the Philadelphia Eagles rank in positional spending at each position after the first wave of NFL free agency

The Eagles have retooled their roster on both sides of the football after inking DE Bryce Huff, RB Saquon Barkley, OLB Zach Baun, OL Matt Hennessy, WR DeVante Parker, S/CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson, LB Devin White, LB Oren Burks, DT PJ Mustipher, WR Parris Campbell, and CB Tyler Hall to deals during the first wave.

Philadelphia then traded for quarterback Kenny Pickett while extending Landon Dickerson and Jake Elliott. 

Philadelphia currently has about  $33,657,986 in cap space per Over The Cap, and they’re spending about $100+ million plus on both sides of the football.  The offensive line and edge rusher positions carry the most significant cap space.

Overall positional spending has changed tremendously since Jalen Hurts signed a massive five-year, $255 million contract extension last spring.

This makes him among the four highest-paid players on average in NFL history.

The Eagles will again be a Super Bowl favorite in the NFC and have one of the most talented rosters despite being 17th in average positional spending.

Thanks to Over The Cap, here’s where Philadelphia sits in positional spending on both sides of the ball ahead of the season opener.

Updated status of every Eagles free agent after first wave of free agency

We’re looking at the status of every Philadelphia Eagles free agent after the first wave of NFL free agency signings

The offseason is in full swing, particularly for the Philadelphia Eagles, who have already made several roster and coaching moves this spring. Eagles GM Howie Roseman started free agency with a bang, agreeing to deals with Saquon Barkley (RB) and Bryce Huff (DE) while retaining Josh Sweat and punter Braden Mann. Philadelphia then signed Landon Dickerson to a monster contract extension and C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a three-year deal. The Eagles have been in nonstop action so far, and we’re taking an updated look at the current status of Philadelphia’s initial group of free agents.

Eagles’ projected depth chart following the first wave of free agency

We’re looking at the Philadelphia Eagles projected depth chart on offense and defense after the first wave of NFL free agency

The Eagles have undergone significant changes on both sides of the football field, involving player personnel and a retooled coaching staff.

Two pillars of the Philadelphia culture have called it a career, as Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox decided to retire.

The free agent period and NFL draft are Howie Roseman’s seasons, and the Eagles GM got off to a roaring start after inking running back Saquon Barkley to a three-year deal, signing improving pass rusher Bryce Huff and then bringing versatile defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson back into the fold.

Roseman then added talent to the backup quarterback position, acquiring Kenny Pickett from the Steelers for a 2024 third-round pick and two 2025 seventh-round picks.

With the second wave of free agency set to pick up steam, we’re looking at an early depth chart prediction for Philadelphia.

Bryce Huff says he chose Eagles over Giants

Bryce Huff says he chose to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles over the New York Giants and several other teams.

The New York Giants entered the offseason in need of edge rush depth and before acquiring Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers, had their eyes on some of the free agents.

However, there were other destinations that those free agents deemed to be more desirable.

Consider linebacker Bryce Huff, who recently signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he will join former Giants running back Saquon Barkley.

Huff revealed that he passed over the Giants, his former team, the New York Jets, and others to sign with the Eagles.

Huff was signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent shortly after the 2020 NFL draft. He played the last four seasons with Gang Green, exploding in 2023 with 29 tackles (19 solo), 10 sacks, and one pass defensed.

The Eagles entered free agency on fire, grabbing up their targets quickly with fair contracts. The Giants’ limited cap space has certainly been a problem, but you have to think that the perceived environment around the team isn’t great.

Huff isn’t the first player to pass on the Giants and sign elsewhere, and he certainly won’t be the last. But hearing yet another player choose a division rival is disheartening, to say the least.

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Eagles restructure Josh Sweat’s contract to create extra cap space

The Philadelphia Eagles will hold on to Josh Sweat after he agreed to a restructured contract

The Eagles’ pass rotation will be much improved after the addition of Bryce Huff, but they’ll retain one of their own after agreeing to a restructured contract with pass rusher Josh Sweat.

Sweat finished his sixth NFL season with 6.5 sacks (second-best on the Eagles) and 43 tackles in 17 regular-season games.

Sweat saw his role increase even more in the Eagles’ defensive end rotation this season, as his 71 percent snap share increased over his 56 percent mark from the 2022 season.

Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman may have had questions about extending Sweat after his sack totals dropped from the 11.0 he logged in 2022.

Sweat had 5.5 sacks through nine games but didn’t manage another until Week 18.

Sweat was entering a contract year with a base salary of just over $1 million and a cap hit of just over $9 million.

He was set to count over $21 million against the 2025 salary cap, and some wonder if he reached his ceiling as a pass rusher.

Sweat also had 19 QB hits through 10 games and just four in the last seven games.

The impact of former Jets edge rusher Bryce Huff signing with Philadelphia

Edge rusher Bryce Huff has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Here is the impact of losing Huff and what it means for the Jets’ defense.

In not all that surprising news, now former Jets edge rusher Bryce Huff is signing a three year deal to join the Philadelphia Eagles.

Prior to the NFL’s legal tampering period opening, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported that the Eagles were going to pursue Huff heavily. According to Adam Schefter, the three year deal is worth $51.1 million.

Huff put together a career year in 2023, finishing second on the team in pressures, behind only Quinnen Williams, with 67. Huff’s 10 recorded sacks, according to PFF, were a career high and the most on the team. Among all edge rushers, Huff’s pass-rush win rate of 22.9 percent was the third-best in football, behind Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett.

I’m sure in a perfect world the Jets would have loved to have re-signed Huff. However, the Jets – at least as of now – are in an okay but not great salary cap situation.

While the Jets do have $20.7 million in available cap space, relatively speaking, that ranks 18th across the NFL, and doesn’t factor in additional expenses, such as signing the draft class, which Over the Cap projects will take up $10.96 million in cap space. They also have to put together a practice squad and need cap space for in-season spending, whether that be making additions or for game day elevations.

On top of that, there are much bigger needs that the Jets have to address this offseason. This includes finding three capable starters along the offensive line, not to mention bolstering the overall depth wouldn’t be a bad idea either. The Jets also need to find a secondary receiving option to partner with Garrett Wilson and need to add to their interior defensive line and safety rooms.

By comparison to those position groups, the edge rusher room is in solid shape. Returning for the 2024 season will be Jermaine Johnson and John Franklin-Myers, who combined for 106 quarterback pressures, along with 2023 first round pick Will McDonald.

As I wrote in a recent article, when it comes to helping absorb Huff’s departure at edge rusher, it’s going to be important that McDonald make a big jump in his second NFL season. As a rookie, McDonald played only 16 percent of the defensive snaps, although he was quite efficient in that limited sample size, ranking 29th in the NFL in pass rush win rate.

“He’s got all the freakish ability,” Robert Saleh said of McDonald. “He can win with speed and can counter inside, but until you get those tackles playing a little bit more heavy-footed because they’re afraid of your power and all that stuff won’t matter, so he’s learning that aspect of it, but I’m excited.”

Along with the Jets current trio of edge rushers, they also have Quinnen Williams in the middle as well. As a defense, the Jets ranked fourth in quarterback pressure rate last season.

When losing a player of Huff’s caliber, it’s never easy to fill that void. With Robert Saleh’s defense rarely blitzing, it’s vital that the defensive front is able to win their matchups in order to create pressure and provide the secondary with some assistance.

Bryce Huff takes to Twitter to say goodbye and thank you to Jets fans

Bryce Huff says goodbye and thank you to Jets fans.

Bryce Huff is no longer with the New York Jets. He is expected to join the Philadelphia Eagles on a three-year deal worth $51.1 million. But before he officially signs with the Eagles, he shared one last goodbye and thank you to Jets fans after four seasons in New York.

“I just wanna say thank you to everybody that’s been following my journey since I showed up in New York four years ago,” Huff posted in a statement on Twitter/X.

Following a 10-sack season, Huff cashes in with the richest contract ever for an undrafted non-quarterback. The Jets are left with a hole on defense that they hope Will McDonald will help fill.

For now, the sting of losing a homegrown star will certainly be felt for a while. But Huff is going out on great terms with the fanbase.

Bryce Huff to join Eagles on three-year deal

Bryce Huff is taking his talents down I-95 as he will join the Philadelphia Eagles.

Bryce Huff’s time as a New York Jet is over. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Huff is expected to sign a three-year deal worth $51.1 million with the Philadelphia Eagles. The deal can also max out at about $60 million per year.

Huff cashes in on a 10-sack season in 2023 with, as Schefter noted, the largest contract ever for an undrafted non-quarterback.

The Jets declined to use the franchise tag on Huff, which would have paid Huff about $21 million for the 2024 season. However, Huff had wanted to see the field more, something that became increasingly unlikely in New York with the team hoping for a second-year jump from 2023 first-round pick Will McDonald.

In Philadelphia, Huff has a chance to lead the charge on the edge, especially if they do move on from Hassan Reddick and/or Josh Sweat.

The Jets had plenty of chances to keep Huff. The ship has now sailed and the Jets now have a big hole to fill on defense.

Eagles agree to terms with former Jets pass-rush demon Bryce Huff

The Eagles added a major chip to their redefined defense by agreeing to terms with former Jets pass-rushing demon Bryce Huff.

The Philadelphia Eagles are redefining their defense to a degree under new coordinator Vic Fangio, and they got a major piece in free agency when they agreed to terms with ex-New York Jets edge-rusher Bryce Huff.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Huff makes a bit of history with his upcoming contract.

Through his first three seasons with the Jets, Huff was not a top-tier consideration, though his four sacks and 36 total pressures in just 173 pass-rushing snaps in 2022 was a bit of a harbinger. But 2023 was unexpected to say the least; Huff totaled 10 sacks and 67 total pressures on just 334 pass-rushing snaps.

So, there shouldn’t really be a concern about Huff being any kind of one-year wonder; he just had more opportunities to demolish opposing blockers in 2023. More likely than not, is specific top-five pass-rush win rate will continue. If that’s the case, expect to hear his name more often when we’re talking about the best edge-rushers in the league.

Jets need Year 2 leap from Will McDonald with Bryce Huff’s potential departure

If the Jets do lose edge rusher Bryce Huff to free agency, then a Year 2 leap from Will McDonald will be needed to help absorb that loss.

If free agent edge rusher Bryce Huff does sign elsewhere this offseason, the New York Jets are going to need 2023 first-round pick Will McDonald to make that Year 2 leap to help fill the void Huff may leave behind.

Behind only Quinnen Williams, Huff finished second on the team last season in pressures with 67 and was first on the team with 10 sacks, according to PFF. League-wide, Huff’s pass-rush win rate of 22.9 percent ranked third among all edge rushers in 2023, behind only Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett.

PFF is projecting that Huff’s next deal will be for three years, totaling $50 million at $16.67 million per year, with $35 million guaranteed. The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that Philadelphia could “aggressively pursue” Huff in free agency.

Although I’m sure the Jets would love to have Huff back, relatively speaking, they are somewhat limited in cap space and have several bigger needs than edge rusher, such as addressing the offensive line, receiver, and safety.

If Huff is playing elsewhere in 2024, then a big jump from McDonald will be a must.

As a rookie, McDonald played only 17 percent of the Jets’ total defensive snaps. In part, this was due to the depth that the Jets had at the edge rusher position in 2023, with Huff, John Franklin-Myers, and Jermaine Johnson all ahead of McDonald on the depth chart, as was Micheal Clemons.

We also saw the Jets take a similar approach with Johnson during his rookie season in 2022. Johnson would play only 27 percent of the defensive snaps in his first season but made a big jump in 2023, playing 66 percent of the snaps while totaling 56 pressures, the third-most on the team.

In his limited action, McDonald was quite efficient in getting after the quarterback, totaling 12 pressures on just 99 pass-rush snaps, three of which turned into sacks, while also forcing a fumble. McDonald would rank 29th out of 198 eligible edge rushers in pass-rush win rate.

“Feel like he was one of, if not the most dynamic pass rushers in this Draft,” GM Joe Douglas said of McDonald during training camp. “Great combination of skill, production and athleticism. I think it was on full display at the Senior Bowl and throughout his career. Fired up to add him to a strong unit and keep adding to the line of scrimmage.”

Where McDonald is likely going to make the biggest impact – at least early on in his career – is as a pass rusher. Listed at only 241 pounds, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote in his pre-draft scouting report about McDonald that against bigger competition, he was able to hold his own in college.

However, at the NFL level, McDonald will have to consistently show he can hold up against the run and set a strong edge.

With the aforementioned Johnson, Williams, and Franklin-Myers all returning this season, it’s not as if the Jets’ ability to get after the quarterback will be greatly diminished if Huff doesn’t return. As a defensive unit, the Jets generated pressure at the fourth-highest rate in 2023, according to Pro Football Reference.

But with that said, Huff’s 67 pressures will be a lot of production for the Jets to replace. That, of course, won’t all fall on McDonald’s shoulders by any means either–although a jump similar to the one Johnson made will be important.

“He’s got all the freakish ability,” Robert Saleh said of McDonald. “He can win with speed and can counter inside, but until you get those tackles playing a little bit more heavy-footed because they’re afraid of your power and all that stuff won’t matter, so he’s learning that aspect of it, but I’m excited.”