Predictably, the flowers came quickly from Eagles fans for GM Howie Roseman after the news broke that Philadelphia was working to finalize a deal to send Bryce Huff to San Francisco for a mid-round draft pick.
In this instance, the admirers should have given their FTD credit lines a rest.
Only those who are captive to the moment can’t see that Roseman spent over $9 million so Huff, 27, can play with another team, perhaps an NFC contender under a coach who convinced the Eagles' scouting staff the edge rusher was worth $17 million per season.
The snarky pushback there will surely point to Huff’s play during his one ill-fated season with the Eagles, where the goal was to turn a proven situational pass rusher into a three-down player.
With the 49ers, however, Huff will reunite with Robert Saleh, the edge rusher’s former head coach with the New York Jets, who returned to the 49ers as defensive coordinator this offseason.
The trade is expected to be finalized post-June 1, and Huff has already agreed to restructure his contract to facilitate that sequel with Saleh, the defensive mind who tapped something with Huff that convinced multiple teams to fight over the edge defender on the open market in 2024.
So, before you crown Roseman for jettisoning a player you didn’t want, understand the GM was the one who fended off those other teams and brought Huff to the Eagles in the first place on a hefty price tag.
The penalty for getting the eraser out so quickly was the $9.05 million, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.
Per Yates, Huff was scheduled to make $16.75 million in guaranteed money this season from the Eagles, who declined a $15.58M option bonus and turned that into base salary.
By doing that, Philadelphia could take on $9.05 million in salary, leaving the 49ers responsible for the remaining $7.95 million due to Huff this season.
In the end, the misevaluation on Huff and his poor fit for Vic Fangio’s scheme turned the cost for a middling asset (likely a fifth-round pick but that’s speculation at this point) and some cap space at a time where edge rusher has become a major need after losing Josh Sweat in free agency and Brandon Graham to retirement to nearly 10 figures.
To be fair, the first step in fixing any mistake is acknowledging it, and Roseman deserves a tip of the cap for finding a Band-Aid to make a self-inflicted wound a little bit better.
There are plenty of reasons to give the NFL's best GM those flowers. The pending Huff trade isn’t one of them.
