Boogie Basham arrived at the Giants’ facility Tuesday afternoon following a trade from the Bills, and the first thing he did was hug general manager Joe Schoen.
“He’s the reason I got drafted in Buffalo in the first place. So to come in here, he wanted me here, that’s like a little bond we got, for sure,” Basham said after participating in his first practice with the Giants on Wednesday. “Joe was one of the first scouts that contacted me and talked to me in the [draft] process. He was like, ‘I really want you in Buffalo.’
“So I knew this was gonna happen eventually. I just had that bond with him before he left [the Bills].”
Schoen was the assistant general manager when Basham — a defensive end who the Giants plan to use at outside linebacker in their 3-4 schemes — was the Bills’ second-round pick out of Wake Forest in 2021.
The Giants acquired him and a seventh-round pick in exchange for a sixth-rounder.
“We’ve got to get him out here and see what he can do,” said Giants coach Brian Daboll, who was Buffalo’s offensive coordinator when Basham was drafted. “He ran a different system, a 4-3 system at Buffalo with his hand in the ground, defensive end. But he’s 275 pounds. He’s a thick body.
“We’ll ask him to do the same stuff that all of our outside backers do.”
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The 25-year-old Basham registered 4.5 sacks in his two seasons in Buffalo, but he didn’t make any starts among 23 appearances.
Daboll confirmed that a group headed by veteran receiver Cole Beasley, linebacker Oshane Ximines and quarterback Tommy DeVito have been signed to the practice squad.
The 34-year-old Beasley has been dealing with a leg injury, but Daboll said he’s “getting better.”
Also added to the practice squad: tight end Ryan Jones, offensive lineman Tyre Phillip, defensive lineman Ryder Anderson, linebackers Darrian Beavers, Tomon Fox and Dyontae Johnson, and cornerbacks Amani Oruwariye and Gemon Green, and safety Alex Cook.
According to NFL Network, the Giants also signed former Eagles tight end Tyree Jackson to the practice squad.
Safety Bobby McCain (concussion protocol), tight end Lawrence Cager (ankle), running back Gary Brightwell (knee) cornerback Cor’Dale Flott (hamstring), safety Gervarrius Owens (hamstring) and linebacker Cam Brown (ankle) did not practice.
In addition to Jalin Hyatt switching from No. 84 to No. 13, others with new numbers after cutdown day were Isaiah Simmons (19), Deonte Banks (25) and Owens (39).
