The Buffalo Bills have had a solid offseason so far, but it has the potential to go south rather quickly.
Why, you ask?
Running back James Cook wants a new contract and he wants to be paid like a top back in the NFL, which would see him earn around $15 million APY. That is quite rich and coming off a 2024 season that saw him have 19 rushing touchdowns (including playoffs), it is easy to see why he wants an extension.
It appears Cook might not want to play on the final year of his rookie deal and with Buffalo's cap situation tight (just $2.2 million per Over The Cap), there isn't much wriggle room.
And another thing for the Bills to think about is Cook will be a free agent in 12 months time.
"Cook is a dual-threat back with lateral quicks and perimeter juice," ESPN writes. "His 16 rushing touchdowns last season were tied with Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs for the league lead. Cook is a durable runner who has had at least 200 carries in each of his past two seasons and also has caught 97 receptions as a pro."
Those are good numbers.
But try these on for size as well: Cook played 55 percent of the offensive snaps in 2023 and 48 percent in 2024. ... that '24 number ranking him 38th among NFL backs.
If Buffalo wants to argue its way out of giving a monster deal to Cook?
Those 2 numbers would be part of the reasoning.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane stated that the franchise has "changed stores that we're shopping in" and that could mean that the expensive store Cook wants them to visit, won't be open.
Where this leaves Cook and the Bills is unknown. Having already re-signed a host of players this offseason, including Khalil Shakir, Greg Rousseau, and Terrel Bernard, Cook must be wondering why he wasn't part of that.
James doesn't seem like the type of player to hold out, but as we often see, things can get messy when money is involved, and Cook is a big part of Buffalo's offense.
But we are about to see how much value Buffalo will put on his services, otherwise in 2026, a host of teams will be lining up for his services.
