Insider Predicts Bills Trade Underperforming 2nd Round Pick

Getty Boogie Basham prepares to take the field at Buffalo Bills' training camp.

The Buffalo Bills have made considerable investments into their edge rushers in the last several years, using high draft picks and taking a big free-agency swing to sign Von Miller.

With competition for roster spots at the position expected to be tight this summer, one insider predicts the Bills will sell off one of those recent investments.

The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia made his early prediction for the team’s final 53-man roster, which included some difficult decisions for the edge rushers. Buscaglia predicted that the recent acquisition of veteran Leonard Floyd gives the team some flexibility and will allow them to explore a trade for second-round pick Boogie Basham.

Boogie Basham’s Uneven Tenure in Buffalo

Basham came to the Bills as a second-round pick in 2021, a year when the Bills used their first-round pick on fellow edge rusher Greg Rousseau. Though Rousseau has shown steady growth as a disruptive force on the defensive line, Basham has endured a more uneven tenure, making 19 total tackles with two sacks last year while adding an interception and a fumble recovery.

Basham often found himself near the end of the team’s defensive line rotation, and Buscaglia believes the team could move on this summer if they are able to find a trade partner willing to pay the right price.

“The depth [at edge rusher] also allows the Bills to recoup a pick potentially on a draft investment who hasn’t panned out as they’d hoped,” Buscaglia wrote. “Boogie Basham still will carry some trade value with rebuilding teams around the league as a change-of-scenery high pick that can be had at a discounted price.”

Bills general manager Brandon Beane has shown a penchant for making late-summer trades, shipping marginal roster candidates for mid- to late-round draft picks. Others have already predicted that the Bills will explore a trade for Basham. David De Cristofaro of USA Today’s Bills Wire wrote before the NFL Draft that Basham could end up on the block if the Bills were looking to make a jump up the draft board.

Slow Start for Von Miller

Buscaglia also predicted that the Bills would take a careful approach with former All-Pro Von Miller, who is still going through rehab for an ACL tear suffered in last year’s Thanksgiving Day win over the Detroit Lions.

Buscalglia predicted that Miller would start the season on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list, with former Los Angeles Rams teammate Floyd penciled in as a starter until his return.

“The addition of Floyd gives them roster flexibility and a starter opposite Rousseau until Von Miller is ready to play,” Buscaglia wrote. “It also gives the Bills the depth and flexibility to save Miller from himself a bit and allow for a successful, long-standing return from a severe injury. Until Miller takes legitimate strides near the end of his projected nine-month rehab, the reserve/physically unable to perform list should remain a consideration to begin the year. Doing so would give Miller, at minimum, a four-week ramp-up period within the regular season without being allowed to play in a game.”