Eagles’ Bryce Huff did not play much against the Jags. Could a deal for an edge rusher be ahead?
Huff was nursing a hand injury, Nick Sirianni said. Still, the NFL trade deadline is on Tuesday and the Birds could be in the market for more help at the position.
The Eagles, leading 10-0, had just turned the Jacksonville Jaguars over on downs midway through the second quarter, and the defense retreated to the bench to get some rest and talk about the series. On one end of the bench, edge rushers Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith, and Josh Sweat chatted together and formed a semicircle of sorts.
To the right of Sweat, staring ahead and out of the conversation, was Bryce Huff. Jacksonville had run 15 plays to that point, and Huff had yet to see the field. When the Jaguars were on offense, Huff stood on the sideline with his helmet perched atop his head. The Eagles didn’t call his number until less than four minutes remained in the first half, and he pressured Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on an incomplete pass on his first snap.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said after his team’s 28-23 win that Huff was dealing with an injury that popped up before the game.
“His hand was bothering him and he was getting treatment in the locker room after warm-ups and we were trying to protect him there,” Sirianni said of Huff’s limited usage.
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After his lone first-half snap, Huff didn’t appear to see the field again until the final Jacksonville drive. He finished the game with just six snaps.
Huff declined to talk after the game when approached by a pair of reporters, saying he would talk “later in the week.”
Injured or not, Huff has not been the player the Eagles thought they were getting when they signed him to a three-year, $51.1 million deal this offseason hoping he could be an every-down edge rusher and replace the production they would eventually lose when they traded away Haason Reddick. He entered Sunday with just 1½ sacks after posting a career-high 10 sacks last season. And he entered Sunday having played more than 50% of the defensive snaps in a game just twice. He played just 38% of the snaps in last week’s win in Cincinnati.
The timing of Sunday was even more interesting because of what lies ahead. The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, and acquiring some pass-rushing help is something the Eagles could consider even as their four-game winning streak has coincided with their pass rush coming alive.
The defense posted five sacks vs. the Cleveland Browns, eight vs. the New York Giants, one vs. the Bengals, and two on Sunday. The Browns and Giants have struggled to block against most fronts they’ve faced. The Jaguars, like the Bengals, are in the middle of the pack when it comes to allowing sacks, but they were down a few linemen before Sunday’s game finished.
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If the Eagles are a team with serious Super Bowl aspirations, it’s not yet clear they have a pass rush worthy of competing with the best teams in the league.
“I think our group is good, man,” said edge rusher Josh Sweat, who had both sacks Sunday and leads the Eagles with five. “I’m obviously not going to come up and say we got to get this or that. The way we’re coming together is something special for sure. We don’t have any weak links — especially our twos and threes are stepping up.”
But Sweat said he knows he can’t control what general manager Howie Roseman does. “Whatever they do is what they do,” Sweat said.
Some possible trade candidates have already been moved. Kansas City traded for New England’s Josh Uche. Detroit is expected to acquire Cleveland’s Za’Darius Smith. Others could be made available, like Chase Young (New Orleans Saints) and Azeez Ojulari (Giants).
Sweat said getting a new edge rusher in the mix wouldn’t bother him.
“I’m trying to win,” he said. “I don’t care about that. At the end of the day, that’ll help us, too. Go double his [butt], let me go free.”
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Sweat said he thought the Eagles could have had more sacks against Jacksonville but they “started making mistakes later on.”
Regarding Huff, Sweat said: “He got pressure. He almost got that sack. I don’t know what the plan was for him. I’m sure there’s a reason why [he didn’t play much]. I just leave that up to them. I’m pretty sure we’re going to get him back out there for some more, but I don’t know what’s going on. He made his plays when it was time for him to.”