The Philadelphia Eagles’ signing of Bryce Huff to a three-year, $51 million contract last offseason was meant to fill the void left by trading Haason Reddick. However, the move has backfired spectacularly, and cutting Huff now could prove to be one of the Eagles’ costliest mistakes yet. With Huff skipping Organized Team Activities (OTAs) after missing offseason workouts and playing fewer than 300 snaps in 2024, reports out of Philadelphia suggest he’s on the outs with the team. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane even stated that Huff is “unlikely to be part of the Eagles’ plans for 2025.” But moving on from him is far easier said than done due to the structure of his contract.
Huff’s deal included $34 million in guarantees, covering his 2024 and 2025 salaries and bonuses. Any team trading for him would need to absorb a hefty $16.75 million guaranteed salary for 2025—nearly $3 million more than Reddick’s contract with Tampa Bay this year. Additionally, Huff’s contract carries a non-guaranteed $17.1 million commitment for 2026. For a player coming off a lackluster 2024 season, marked by a wrist injury and being a healthy scratch in the Super Bowl, this price tag is a tough sell.
The Eagles face a steep challenge in unloading Huff. Trading him would likely require Philadelphia to cover a significant portion of his 2025 guaranteed salary, and even then, the return might be minimal. A recent trade involving another pass rusher serves as a stark warning. Last fall, the New England Patriots traded Josh Uche, a pass-rush specialist like Huff, to the Kansas City Chiefs for a mere sixth-round pick in 2026. Uche was playing on a one-year, $3 million deal—less than one-sixth of Huff’s 2025 salary. Both players are role-specific talents, with Huff never exceeding 480 snaps in a season and Uche topping out at 374. If Uche’s trade value was a sixth-rounder, Huff’s—coming off a disappointing season—might fetch even less, even if the Eagles eat most of his salary.
Cutting Huff outright would be equally painful. By designating the cut after June 1, the Eagles could spread the salary cap hit over two years, but it’s still a bitter pill. Huff’s $15.58 million option bonus and $1.17 million base salary for 2025, both fully guaranteed, would result in dead cap hits of $7.41 million in 2025 and a staggering $21.84 million in 2026. For a player who recorded just 2.5 sacks in limited action, that’s a brutal financial blow.
Ironically, Huff has mirrored Reddick not only as his replacement but also as a costly misstep. The Eagles, fresh off a Super Bowl victory, might be tempted to absorb the loss and move on. However, keeping Huff in a limited role for 2025 could be more valuable than a low-value draft pick or the massive dead cap hit from cutting him. Unless a trade partner emerges willing to take on his contract at a price far above expectations, the Eagles might be better served finding a way to make it work with Huff. Cutting him now could cement this as their biggest blunder yet, with the Uche trade as a haunting reminder of what little they might gain in return.