The 2023 regular season was filled with disappointment for the New York Jets. What started as a season with a ton of optimism quickly took a turn for the worst when Aaron Rodgers was injured four plays into his career with the team.
Without Rodgers, the Jets’ offense plummeted to the bottom of the NFL across the board. Unable to consistently move the ball or sustain drives, a ton of pressure was placed on their defense.
Too often, they were put in impossible positions to succeed. Quick change turnovers set them up for failure as they would get a stop and be right back on the field as the offense would commit a turnover.
NFL News & Rumors: Bryce Huff, NFL Free Agency, New York Jets Updates
While the unit underachieved as a whole, there is a lot of talent to get excited about. One of those players is edge rusher Bryce Huff, who has set himself up for quite a payday as an impending free agent.
Huff was the No. 27 ranked out of 114 qualified edge defenders in the NFL per PFF with an overall grade of 79.7. His pass-rushing grade of 86.8 was 32nd in the entire NFL without a qualifying number of attempts and 11th among edge rushers.
An undrafted free agent out of Memphis, Huff has proven he can successfully and consistently get after the quarterback. In the Jets’ Week 18 win over the New England Patriots, he recorded 2.0 sacks, giving him a career-high 10.5 on the season.
Huff was given an expanded role this season and made the most of it. Following Sunday’s game against the Patriots, he was open and candid about his free-agent plans. Jets fans won’t love to hear this, as Huff isn’t going to be giving the team a hometown discount.
No one can fault a player for wanting to do what is best for him and his family. In Huff’s position, that means maximizing his potential earnings on the open market and signing a contract that pays him as much as possible.
NFL News & Rumors: Bryce Huff, NFL Free Agency, New York Jets Updates
What makes his numbers even more impressive is the limited opportunities he racked them up in. Huff was 56th in pass-rushing snaps this season and was on the field for less than half of the Jets’ defensive snaps, playing 480 snaps, which was 42 percent.
In addition to the 10.5 sacks, Huff has 10 tackles for loss, 21 quarterback hits and 30 combined pressures. If the Jets don’t open up their checkbook, another franchise will as teams around the league are starved for pass-rushing production and he is capable of providing it in spades.
It would be interesting to see what Huff could do with an expanded role. Based on how the 2023 campaign went with the Jets, it would be fair to assume that his numbers would be taken to another level.
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