The Buffalo Bills have gotten early praise from ESPN for the 2025 season. And one of the Bills’ new players likes working with Josh Allen. Also, head coach Sean McDermott sounded off about learning from Vince Carter.
The NBA Hall of Famer said he’s trying to provide an athletic perspective to the team, and McDermott seems to like the approach, according to espn.com.
“I wasn't like this when I was younger,” McDermott said. “My parents would say I wasn't into reading books and this and that. I was going out and playing, right? But now the older I've gotten, the more curious I've gotten about life overall, habits like (Carter’s) had over the years that make you great. And I think that's good for our team. It's good for the organization. It's great for Buffalo. And why not learn from someone like that?”
Bills coach Sean McDermott joining forces with Vince Carter
Carter showed up at OTAs to observe things.
“This is what I choose to do,” Carter said. “I don't know if it's my role. (And) I don't have a problem making it my role, but I just want to be an outlet to these guys. I think the wonderful thing about being an athlete, regardless of what sport you're in, you can have those types of conversations and pull from those experiences.
“I just see me as Vince and can pull from just experiences and different things that I've seen, which other people actually care about, which is pretty cool.”
The Bills can use the positivity as the deal with the contract situation of running back James Cook. The standout was the only player not part of the voluntary activities.
Of course, one man’s absence is another man’s opportunity. And second-year running back Ray Davis took advantage of the extra attention.
“I've just been enjoying the process,” Davis said. “All of us are with the (first-team offense). There's no depth chart right now. There's no No. 1 guy, No. 2 guy. We're all just going in and playing our game and putting our best foot forward as a collective unit. We're getting better.”
RB James Cook presenting a tough situation for Bills
The situation with Cook is getting interesting, according to Sports Illustrated.
“The James Cook situation is fascinating,” Albert Breer wrote. “On one hand, he certainly deserves to be among the young core players the Bills rewarded this offseason — with Gregory Rousseau, Christian Benford, Terrel Bernard, and Khalil Shakir now on new deals. He was the best skill player on the team, next to league MVP Josh Allen, and is still ascending at 25 years old.”
The question remains whether Cook is at those players’ level. He may claim to be when it comes to negotiations.
