Different shade, and a bit more GREEN
Huff leaves Jets for 3-year, 51.1M deal with Eagles
After four seasons with the Jets, Bryce Huff will play in another uniform.
Huff agreed to a three-year contract with the Eagles. ESPN reports the deal is worth $51.1 million, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback undrafted free agent in NFL history.
Monday at noon marked the beginning of the NFL’s legal tampering window. That is the two-day period during which teams can begin speaking directly with agents of unrestricted free agents.
Players cannot officially sign any new contracts until the start of the new league year, which begins 4 p.m. Wedneaday.
“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 said in a statement on social media.
“The memories I made in MetLife and in the city of New York will be cherished forever.”
The Jets signed Huff as an undrafted free agent out of Memphis in 2020. During his time with the Jets, Huff became one of the more underrated pass rushers in the NFL.
Last season, as a pass-rush specialist, Huff led the Jets with a career-high 10 sacks. According to Next Gen Stats, he also registered 68 quarterback pressures in 312 pass rushes and recorded a league-leading 21.8% pressure percentage. It was a significant jump from his previous three seasons, when Huff recorded a total of 7.5 sacks.
Huff started only seven games with the Jets, but in Jeff Ulbrich and Robert Saleh’s defense, he was heavily used during third-down situations. Some criticized his play in run defense, but it was an area Huff improved on during his time with the Jets.
Last season, the Jets signed Huff to a second-round tender as a restricted free agent ($4.3 million). At the Oct. 31 deadline, the Jets received several trade offers for Huff, but with a 4-3 record, they decided to hold on to the 25-yearold with the potential to sign him to a
long-term deal during the offseason.
In November, Huff told the Daily News “it would be cool having the opportunity to continue to ball out” with his Jets teammates. However, after the Jets’ season finale against the Patriots, Huff said, “I’m not giving any discount.”
General manager Joe Douglas said two weeks ago at the NFL combine that he had some “productive” conversions with Huff’s agent, but they would not place him with the franchise tag. With so many needs on both sides of the ball, the Jets decided it was best to let Huff move on.
With the Eagles, Huff will form a formable defensive line with Brandon Graham and Nolan Smith. Reportedly, there have been rumors about Philadelphia trading Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat, so adding Huff makes a lot of sense.
Eagles defense was 26th in yards (356.1) and 30th in points (25.2) allowed per game. That was down from the Eagles’ Super Bowl runner-up season in 2022, in which they finished second in total defense (301.5) and seventh in points allowed.
The Jets did keep one of their own, re-signing half of their kicking tandem.
According to sources, Gang Green and kicker Greg Zuerlein agreed to a twoyear, $8.4 million contract. Zuerlein has spent the last two seasons with the Jets and has been one of the best kickers in the league during that time.
In 2022, Zuerlein converted 30 of 37 field-goal attempts. Last season, he was even better, making 35 of 38 kicks, including 5 of 6 from 50 yards or more.