Bryce

Huff

The 49ers also ruled out EDGE Yetur Gross-Matos (hamstring) and C Jake Brendel (hamstring), while labeling DT Jordan Elliott (ankle/personal matter), LB Dee Winters (knee), DL Sam Okuayinonu (ankle), OG Ben Bartch (ankle) and OL Spencer Burford (knee) questionable for Week 9. The 49ers’ defense is officially one to target for fantasy purposes and their poor health should also reinforce the offense’s passing volume.

We do not yet know Purdy’s Friday participation level, but he remained limited through Wednesday and Thursday, and we assume Friday was no different. The 49ers are seemingly set on keeping their franchise quarterback protected from re-injury for as long as possible. Mac Jones will start again in his stead, and can be treated as a borderline QB1/2 against the Texans. The 49ers also ruled out C Jake Brendel (hamstring), EDGE Bryce Huff (hamstring) and EDGE Yetur Gross-Matos (hamstring).

Huff suffered a hamstring strain in the team’s Week 7 win over the Falcons and will miss the next two games. The 49ers continue to struggle through injuries up and down their roster, yet still remain tied with the Rams atop the NFC West.

CBS’ Jonathan Jones reports the pick can upgrade to a fourth-rounder if Huff meets certain criteria this season. A potential deal was first reported by Adam Schefter on Friday, with the Eagles waiting until after June 1 to reap some extra salary cap space in the trade. Once one of the top units in the league, the 49ers have undergone significant change along the defensive live, including drafting two expected starters in this year’s draft in addition to the deal for Huff. The current expectation for Huff is that of a pass rush specialist after 64 percent of his snaps last season came in such situations.

According to Schefter, the Eagles are looking to acquire a mid-round pick in exchange for Huff’s services. Huff signed a three-year deal with the Eagles last season after recording a 10-sack season with the Jets in 2023, but was limited to 12 games due to a wrist injury and declared inactive for the team’s Super Bowl win over the Chiefs. Huff has two years left on his deal and has amassed 20 sacks over his first four years in the league. Last season with the Eagles, he played on 285 defensive snaps, with 182 of those coming in pass rush situations. We should expect to see a similar split for Huff in San Francisco.

Schultz included Dallas Goedert in this report as well. While Goedert being a trade candidate is a surprise to some, the same can’t be said of Huff. Philly signed Huff to a three-year, $51.1 million contract last offseason after he totaled 10 sacks with the Jets in 2023. The Eagles never found much of a role for Huff and he notched just 2.5 sacks in 12 regular season games as a reserve pass-rusher. He was a healthy scratch for the Super Bowl. Huff is worth more to another team than he is to Philly and the contract will make getting him off the books a priority for the Eagles. While they aren’t likely to get much in return, the Eagles should be able to find a suitor for Huff at some point this offseason.

Huff has played intermittently since undergoing in-season surgery on his injured wrist in November. Huff will be replaced by veteran DE Brandon Graham, who makes his triumphant return from injured reserve after tearing his triceps in Week 12. The Eagles also declared QB Tanner McKee, CB Eli Ricks, DB Lewis Cine, OL Darian Kinnard, OL Trevor Keegan and WR Ainias Smith inactive. McKee will serve as the emergency third quarterback.

Eagles beat writers believe Huff, who has played with a hard cast on his injured wrist over the past two weeks, could return at the end of the regular season or the start of the postseason. Huff’s absence is a loss for an Eagles defense featuring a pass rush that Pro Football Focus grades as the NFL’s second best this season. Huff has two sacks and 11 QB hurries this season.

Huff becomes the highest-paid non-quarterback undrafted free agent in league history with the massive deal. He was a much sought after free agent after posting a career-high 29 tackles, ten tackles for loss, and ten sacks in 2023. He hit the quarterback on 7 percent of his pass rush snaps, the third highest rate in the NFL last season. Huff, 25, will be an anchor for a Philly defense that came apart in the second half of the 2023 season. Pro Football Focus graded the Eagles pass rush as the eighth best in the league last season.

Huff is set to enter free agency after posting a career-high 29 tackles, 10 TFLs, and 10 sacks in 2023. Huff joined the Jets as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2020 and has totaled 17.5 sacks in 54 games, showing steady growth over each season. The veteran pass rusher has earned a PFF pass-rush grade of 86.8 or higher over the last two seasons and will be 26 at the start of next year. He should fetch plenty of interest on the open market