Getty Boogie Basham prepares to take the field at Buffalo Bills' training camp.
The Buffalo Bills made considerable investments into their defensive line over the past two years, but one of the main pieces of that overhaul could be nearing the end of his time in Buffalo.
The Bills took defensive linemen with their first two picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, landing edge rusher Greg Rousseau in the first round and Boogie Basham in the second. While Rousseau has grown into a strong contributor to the defense, Basham has struggled during his two seasons in Buffalo and ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg believes he will be on the outside of the roster bubble before the season starts.
New Additions Could Push Out Boogie Basham
As Getzenberg noted, the Bills continued to retool their defensive line, which struggled to get pressure on the quarterback following the season-ending injury to Von Miller in November. The Bills signed free agents Poona Ford to anchor the middle and Leonard Floyd to come off the edge, which could push Basham off the team.
Getzenberg predicted that Basham would not be on the final 53-man roster, even with an extra spot to start the season as Miller is expected to start on the PUP list.
“Due to the addition of Floyd, the Bills will still have to make tough emotional decisions even if Miller is on PUP and, in this projection, move on from 2021 second-round pick Boogie Basham,” Getzenberg wrote.
Basham struggled in his second NFL season, making just 2.0 sacks and 19 total tackles in 2022.
Bills Could Go Another Route
While Getzenberg predicts that the Bills will release Basham before the start of the season, The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia believes there could be another option. In a breakdown of the team’s potential trade candidates, he identified Basham as the most likely option given his lack of production and the team’s logjam at edge rusher.
“Basham has provided some good flashes now and again. Still, there isn’t a level of consistency to his game, and it almost seems like he’s a tweener with a game better suited to the interior but a body frame that dictates he should be rushing from the outside,” Buscaglia wrote.
“We told him you gotta get some A-hole in ya’…and he did it!”
#Bills GM Brandon Beane discussed 3rd year d-lineman Boogie Basham and the progression he’s seen from pass rusher Gregory Rousseau🔊⬇️
Catch more from Brandon & his entire appearance here: t.co/ZQc0l4DE9A
Buscaglia predicted that the Bills would use training camp and the preseason as an evaluation period for Basham, and could put him on the trade block should he fail to rise up the depth chart.
“The Bills will see what Basham shows this summer, but if they feel like he’s not going to crack their rotation in 2023, holding him and making him a healthy scratch on game days could zap any remaining trade value,” Buscaglia wrote. “Turning 26 in December, Basham might be a sunk cost at this point.”
Bills general manager Brandon Beane has made a habit of making late-summer trades, shipping away marginal roster candidates for late-round draft picks. He moved quarterback A.J. McCarron in 2017 after he lost the quarterback competition in camp and last summer moved offensive lineman Cody Ford to the Arizona Cardinals for a fifth-round pick.
Given his high draft position, Basham could net a similar return should he hit the trade block.
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Bills Expected to Cut 2021 2nd-Round Pick After Disappointing Start