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The New York Jets refused multiple trade offers for defensive lineman Bryce Huff throughout the 2023 calendar year.
NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero shared the news with Jets team reporter Eric Allen at the NFL Combine.
“There is going to be a great market for him [Huff] because Joe [Douglas] was getting calls on Bryce Huff going back to camp last year before he produced. Then again at the trade deadline there were people coming after Bryce Huff. At one point probably early in training camp I thought maybe Bryce Huff was getting traded just because there was such a level of interest,” Pelissero admitted.
Latest Intel on Huff Is a Big Point of Frustration for Jets Fans
Huff, 25, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, March 13. Gang Green chose not to franchise tag him ahead of the deadline which would have prevented him from reaching the open market.
“The Jets plan to let Bryce Huff hit free agency and test the market. I remain steadfast in my belief that he will be signing elsewhere,” Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic said.
The Jets could have reached a long-term deal with Huff last offseason or even during the season. However, Rosenblatt told me on “The Boy Green Show” that Douglas decided against extending anyone in the middle of the season.
Not accepting trade offers for a talented pass rusher in training camp made sense. You had Aaron Rodgers at quarterback for a win now team with title hopes. However, at the trade deadline, the Jets were a .500 team with no legitimate hopes of making a playoff run.
With all hope lost in the middle of the season, the Jets could have shipped off Huff to another team for a guaranteed asset knowing he was a rental. Instead, they chose to keep him.
Now New York is set to lose him for nothing. The only silver lining is a potential compensatory pick in 2025. However, that isn’t a lock to happen because the Jets’ spending in free agency might outweigh the money Huff receives from a new team.
Market Could Get Crazy for Huff
“If he’s [Huff] pushing $20 [million per year], I mean that wouldn’t totally shock me,” Pelissero said.
If the Jets were unwilling to franchise tag Huff for around $21 million then it seems unlikely they would spend the necessary $20 million per year on a long-term deal to keep him.
The problem is Douglas knew back at the trade deadline whether he intended on keeping Huff or not. He probably had a good idea if he planned on using the franchise tag or not.
In a perfect world, Huff would be on the roster in 2024. However, it doesn’t appear that is likely which means he should have traded Huff when he had the chance.
Also if there was as much trade interest in Huff as Pelissero indicated then why wouldn’t the team explore a potential tag-and-trade? Any asset they got in return via trade would be better than getting nothing.
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