Bryce Huff played for three NFL franchises before retiring in 2025 (the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles), and he’s now on record with his verdict on which of his last two teams boasts the better all-time legacy roster.
Spoiler: it’s the 49ers.
In an appearance on the Caps Off Podcast, Huff went position group by position group in a head-to-head breakdown of each franchise’s all-time legends. When the dust settled, San Francisco won the matchup 4-3.
At quarterback, Huff needed no convincing. Joe Montana over Donovan McNabb was a quick, decisive answer. As for running backs, Huff sided with the Eagles’ side of Saquon Barkley and LeSean McVay over Christian McCaffrey and Frank Gore.
The wideout group went to San Francisco. Huff picked the trio of Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens and Anquan Boldin over the Eagles’ Owens, A.J. Brown and Chris Carter. Huff picked George Kittle over Zach Ertz in the tight end debate.
The Eagles clawed back points in the trenches. Huff conceded that the grouping of offensive tackle Jason Peters, guard Evan Mathis, center Jason Kelce, tackle Lane Johnson and edge rusher Reggie White of the Eagles took down the 49ers’ offensive tackle Trent Williams, offensive tackle Joe Staley, edge rusher Nick Bosa and defensive lineman Bryant Young.
The 49ers then swept the back seven. Patrick Willis, Navarro Bowman and Fred Warner at linebacker were a no-brainer before Huff even heard the Eagles’ names. And at defensive back, Deion Sanders, Richard Sherman and Ronnie Lott closed it out over Brian Dawkins, Malcolm Jenkins and Eric Allen, although Huff admitted his reasoning there was straightforward: “I would have to just go Niners ’cause I don’t know anybody named on the Eagles side.”
When you look at the breakout in postseason success, too, this checks out. The 49ers won five Super Bowls in the 1980s and ’90s with a lot of those legends, while the Eagles didn’t win their two titles until 2017 and 2024, when most of those legends had retired.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers win all-time legends head-to-head vs. Eagles, former player says
Reporting by Oliver G., Niners Wire / Niners Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Oliver G., Niners Wire | USA TODAY Network
