The Buffalo Bills and James Cook are still far apart in contract talks with the running back set to play on the final year of his rookie deal, but there is still love for James from general manager Brandon Beane.
Tensions can sometimes rise, and in James' case, having seen Josh Allen, Khalil Shakir, Terrel Bernard, Greg Rousseau, and Christian Benford all agree to the next terms, he has been "left out" of the signing splurge.
Beane, who is at the annual league meeting, stated that he doesn't see any deals being done anytime soon, with the franchise's focus now on the draft, but he made a point to say how highly he thinks of Cook as a player and person.
"We want him to have success, we're rooting for him and we want nothing more, just like these other guys, for James to continue being a Buffalo Bill well past this season, but we are where we are, and there's no hard feelings from us," Beane said. "I look forward to giving him a hug whenever I see him, and we want to put him in positions to succeed like we have so far."
So this is being looked at as a pure business move right now, and it isn't impacting the relationship with the player, well, at least from Beane's side.
Cook wants to be paid like a top back in football at roughly $15 million APY, and given the Bills' salary cap situation (just $4.4 million in space per Over The Cap), it isn't feasible for Buffalo to get Cook a new deal.
Beane did state that just because Cook doesn't have a deal now, it doesn't mean he won't next season, but right now, James' future isn't a top priority, and the franchise is looking forward to the draft.
There's no hard feelings from the Bills towards Cook, but after being the first to state he wanted a new deal, to then see a host of others get done instead, we aren't sure if James shares a similar feeling.
