After missing four games following wrist surgery, Bryce Huff looked a little rusty last week against the Cowboys. But in Sunday’s regular season finale, Huff feels like he knocked the rest of that rust off.
And now he’s ready to go in the playoffs.
“Yeah, for sure,” Huff said. “Just being out, playing with the messed up wrist for a little bit, doing the surgery and waiting all that time for it to heal, it definitely put a little put a little rust in there. But I feel like I was definitely able to knock off the rust the past two weeks.”
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With the Eagles’ two starting edge rushers (Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith) sitting out in Week 18, Huff played a season-high 46 snaps. He didn’t get a sack on Sunday but he did have a team-high 5 pressures against the Giants and 3 of them came in under 2.5 seconds, per NextGen Stats.
But can Huff actually help the Eagles’ in the playoffs?
Huff’s first season with the Eagles certainly hasn’t gone to plan but he can flip the narrative if he can find a way to contribute in the postseason.
The Eagles signed Huff to a three-year, $51.1 million deal in the offseason and even before injuring his wrist, Huff wasn’t very productive. He lost his starting job and failed to make much of an impact before playing a couple games with a torn ligament in his wrist that needed surgery.
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“I’m going to give it everything I can,” Huff said Sunday afternoon. “Whenever my number is called, whatever my coaches need me to do, just doing it to the best of my ability.”
Without Huff and Brandon Graham (who is out with a torn triceps), the Eagles went to a three-man edge rusher rotation for a month with Sweat, Smith and rookie Jalyx Hunt. While defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said the Eagles would have been able to stick with that rotation in the playoffs, it should help to add another guy to that mix.
It’s unlikely that Huff is suddenly going to turn into a superstar in the playoffs and it’s also unlikely that his $17 million per-year contract is suddenly going to look like a good one. But a few plays in the playoffs could go a long way in changing the narrative.
In 12 games this season, Huff managed to pick up just 2 1/2 sacks and had just 4 quarterback hits. But if you’re looking for a positive, his get-off time of 0.78 seconds was 10th in the NFL among players with at least 100 pass rush reps, per NextGen Stats. The nine guys ahead of him were Von Miller, Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, Trey Hendrickson, Will Anderson Jr., Derek Barnett, Keith Paye, Micah Parsons and Clelin Ferrell.
Huff spent the first four years of his NFL career with the New York Jets and was a part of four losing teams. This will be Huff’s first trip to the postseason.
“Being on a losing team the last [four] years is not a good feeling,” Huff said. “I feel like the fact that I’m on this team with all these great players, great coaches, I feel like there’s no way I can take it for granted. I’m going to do whatever I can to help us win.”
The last two weeks, Huff has worn a cast on his left hand but said it hasn’t limited him. In fact, he said the cast is doing its job of keeping his wrist in place. Over the last couple of weeks, Huff said it felt good to get back into a rhythm.
It would be a pretty cool story if Huff is able to contribute in the playoffs.
After four years of losing, Huff said joining a winning team in the offseason was a big factor for his decision to come to the Eagles. After a rough first season in Philly, he’ll get a chance to play in the playoffs next Sunday afternoon.
“Just being here and seeing the process of everybody and what they do, it’s pretty cool,” Huff said. “I’m blessed to be part of a winning culture and I’m just going to do everything I can to contribute.”
Tune in to Mission 59 specials all playoffs long on NBC Sports Philadelphia, presented by Toyota.
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