This bet is already paying off for the 49ers

This was a wise wager.

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch. | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers made a bet on Bryce Huff this offseason. Huff was coming off a poor season with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the thought was that if Philadelphia could not get the most out of him, then who could? The team bought low and may have already seen his production pay off in their win over the New Orleans Saints.

San Francisco 49ers get massive impact from Bryce Huff

Huff had five pressures and a sack that ended up being the game-winning play for the 49ers. That is exactly what he is, which is what brought him in. Huff has never been a good run defender, and he has been a rotational player for his entire career. However, he can get after the quarterback. 

The issue is that this was not the case with the Eagles. He went from 10 sacks in 2023 to 2.5 sacks in 2024. With one sack through two weeks, you would think that he is just getting started and will shatter his production from last season.

Huff may not record ten sacks this season. Still, the 49ers are not asking for ten sacks from him. They traded a conditional pick in the 2026 draft for Huff, and he is hitting for less than $8M on the salary cap. Next year, his cap hit is even less. 

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Bryce Huff. | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

They are paying him to be a role player, and that is what he is giving them, if not more. This is about the definition of low-risk with high-reward. Today, the 49ers got the reward. 

Huff did not win the game on his own, but his impact was felt. He did not record a sack last week, but his impact was felt as well. San Francisco has faced two game-winning drives and shut down both of them.

In both situations, the team leaned into the lineup of Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Bryce Huff as a pure pass-rushing group. Last week it was Bosa, this week it was Huff. The reality is that all four are making this pass rush hard to stop. 

It will be interesting to see how many sacks Huff ends up with this season. It is clear that he is a fit with Robert Saleh, and while he may not finish with ten sacks, five or six is a totally reasonable expectation at this point. That would be plenty considering the investment.