PHILADELPHIA -- Bryce Huff was one of the most sought-after edge rushers in free agency -- the Philadelphia Eagles weren't the only bidder for his services. Huff had a myriad of offers, and plenty of options to consider.
"The Jets, of course," New York's former defensive end said at the NovaCare Complex Thursday. "The Giants were on the table. Commanders were on the table. Vikings, Seahawks. It was a good bit of teams."
Why did Huff, who signed a three-year, $51.1 million deal with Philadelphia early in free agency, choose the Eagles over two NFC East rivals? Perhaps proximity and location were a factor, but Philadelphia had something to offer New York and Washington didn't.
"Just how much they wanted me," Huff said. "Did they just want to stick me out there and let me do my thing? And also the culture, the culture here is great. The Eagles are [one] of the best in the league when it comes to consistently winning and consistently having good players. They let [you] go out there and do your thing on Sunday."
Huff certainly had an interesting journey to prove himself in the NFL. An undrafted free agent from Memphis, Huff earned his way on the field as a rookie and essentially remained a part-time pass rusher since. He only has seven starts to his name and only played over 50% of the defensive snaps once in his career (and that was in a season derailed by a back injury).
Last season was Huff's breakout campaign, as he finished with 10 sacks and 21 quarterback hits despite having just 42% of the defensive snaps. Only Micah Parsons had a higher pressure rate among defensive players with 250+ snaps than Huff, who finished at 21.3%.
The Eagles think the best is yet to come for Huff, which is why they paid him $17 million a year despite being a part-time pass rusher in the first four years of his career. Huff is going to get his opportunity to play more and do what he does best -- get to the quarterback.
"I just want to be able to show I'm one of the best in the league and I want to continuously work and go prove that every Sunday," Huff said. "Even with having a new contract, just knowing that most of the guys on the team were drafted and were pinned as automatically just better than you. It's definitely going to stick with me."
