Defensive end Bryce Huff’s contract for the 2023 season paid him more than he had made in his first three NFL seasons. Now it’s likely the pass-rusher will be paid more for the 2024 season than he was in his first four NFL seasons.

A prep standout at St. Paul’s Episcopal in Mobile, Huff entered the NFL from Memphis as an undrafted rookie in 2020. He had made the transition from linebacker to the defensive line during his final college season.

Huff showed pass-rush promise in his first three seasons with the New York Jets by registering 7.5 sacks. A restricted free agent last offseason, Huff stayed with the Jets after they put a second-round tender on him. That was worth $4.304 million for the 2023 season after he had a $2.3 million contract for his first three seasons.

With Huff set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, the sports-financial website spotrac.com estimates Huff’s market value as a four-year, $36.856 million contract.

What happened in the 2023 season that boosted Huff’s appeal?

Huff recorded 10 sacks, 21 quarterback hits and 33 pressures on 480 defensive snaps (42 percent of New York’s total this season).

“I feel like it was just a matter of staying consistent and just continuously getting better throughout practice and throughout the season,” Huff said about reaching 10 sacks. “Just hammering away at that goal, and I was eventually able to achieve it.”

Huff said “it would be cool” to stay with the Jets, but he’s going to look at all offers when free agency begins in March.

“I just got to do what’s best for me and my family at the end of the day,” Huff said. “I worked really hard with these guys here at this organization. Everybody’s goal was to win and, hopefully, get paid in the process, so that’s what I’m looking to do this offseason.”

New York general manager Joe Douglas said he didn’t know if the Jets would be able to keep Huff.

“Bryce is a great player-development success story,” Douglas said. “For an undrafted free agent to come in and finish his contract year with 10 sacks, that’s a special thing, and he’s well-deserving of all his success.

“So now we get to – this is part of the business, right? Bryce isn’t the only free agent we want back. But this is part of the business – just getting in our group, talking about the game plan moving forward for the offseason and the best way to proceed. But whether it’s Bryce or (safety) Ashtyn (Davis) or (offensive tackle) Mekhi (Becton) or any of those free agents, it’s important to have that discussion and determine what’s the best role for them and how aggressive we want to pursue those guys.

“But couldn’t be more proud of Bryce and what he’s accomplished.”

Huff heads into the offseason to prepare for a 2024 season with a currently unidentified team.

“The first couple of months, I’m just, like, working out, staying in shape, just keeping my mind and body at peace, getting away from the game a little bit,” Huff said of his offseason plans. “Then going into March, I really start ramping everything up, and then after OTAs heading into camp, it’s like full steam.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.