Could the New York Jets re-sign Bryce Huff after all?
A critical free agent’s departure from the New York Jets may not be set in stone.
In an article from ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald gave his thoughts on the Bryce Huff contract situation and his future.
With Huff on the field, the #Jets allowed a stingy passer rating of 69.8, compared to 83.1 when he was on the sideline — the biggest differential among their DLM.
Now he’s about to get a 💰. Will it come from the Jets? He’d be a big loss. https://t.co/Ye775i5MP9
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) February 15, 2024
“I think the public pressure is going to be so high, and it’s going to be really bad if they lose him, so maybe they end up overpaying a little bit to keep him,” Fitzgerald said.
The cap expert also predicted that Huff “will ultimately land in the $17 to $18 million range and that “Huff will sign an 11th-hour deal to remain in New York.”
The comments from Fitzgerald are extremely interesting, especially in light of what the situation currently seems to be.
New York, as Cimini mentioned once again in the article, is unlikely to put the $23 million franchise tag on Huff. They also have repeatedly talked up 2023 first-round pick Will McDonald as a player they believe can take the leap in 2024.
Also, Huff is on the record saying that he will not give the Jets a hometown discount and will be looking to get the biggest payday possible.
With all aspects of the situation considered, though, the Jets need to find a way to retain Huff if the franchise tag is not in play.
The Memphis product has been the team’s best pure pass rusher for the past two seasons. In 2023, Huff finished with 10 sacks and ranked 19th among edge rushers with 67 total pressures despite placing 59th in pass-rush snaps (334). His 22.9% pass-rush win rate ranked third-best among players with at least 300 pass-rush snaps, trailing only Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett.
Good teams and organizations do not let talented edge rushers walk out the door for nothing. Great teams do not allow them to leave at all.
If the Jets want to be seen as an upper-level organization, they need to keep upper-level talent on the roster. By letting Huff walk for nothing, especially after multiple opportunities to trade or re-sign him, the front office will put the team in a worse spot before any moves are made.
My preference is to keep Huff in the house. An Athletic article about each teams biggest area of need showed 7 teams have a major need for an edge rusher. Some team with pay Huff so I hope it is the Jets.
People should realize how great the Jets defensive line is. With Johnson & Huff on the edges and Quinnen blowing up plays in the middle, the Jets have the ideal defense to play with a lead. With Aaron Rodgers coming back and the strength of the Jets defense, they should be playing with a lead most games and the pass rush can overwhelm other teams.