We are less than 100 days away from the start of the 2025 NFL season and the Buffalo Bills have still not signed James Cook to a contract extension.
One analyst believes Cook may need to outperform his gaudy numbers from the 2024 NFL season to convince the Bills to sign him to the lucrative multi-year contract extension he is seeking prior to the start of the season.
James Cook Named a Player Entering a Make-Or-Break Year Entering 2025 NFL Season
Nick Shook of NFL.com gave some profound reasons why he believes Buffalo Bills RB James Cook is entering a make-or-break year in 2025, which included the star running back’s decision to miss voluntary organized team activities (OTAs).
Shook wrote, “Cook enters the new season with uncertainty long-term. He’s made clear his desire for a new contract, but the Bills don’t appear to have budged, even after his second straight 1,000-yard season, in which he averaged nearly five yards per carry and rushed for a league-high 16 touchdowns. So, Cook is staying away from voluntary OTAs.”
The league-high 16 rushing touchdowns didn’t include an additional two receiving scores, putting him at 18 total scores for the season.
The only player to score more total touchdowns than Cook last year was Detroit Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs, which paints a pretty clear picture why Cook believes he deserves a market value contract extension amongst the other elite ball carriers in the league entering the 2025 NFL season.
Well, Cook likely wouldn’t be pleased to hear Shook’s take on the situation — which mentioned Cook potentially needing to convince the Bills for getting a new deal by outperforming his production over the last two seasons.
Shook added, “To fully convince Buffalo to invest in him with a new deal, Cook will almost certainly need to outperform his production over the last two years, which means posting something like 1,200-plus rushing yards and double-digit rushing touchdowns, along with 300-plus receiving yards and a handful of receiving scores. That’s a high bar for a back who has already done enough to deserve consideration for an extension.”
If forced to do so, one could craft an argument stating Cook isn’t an elite running back in the NFL due to his lack of rushing volume. Cook’s 207 carries last year were considerably less than players like Saquon Barkley (345) and Derrick Henry (325), but Cook’s per touch efficiency and touchdown output still paint his production profile amongst the best playmakers at the position in the league.
What Kind of Impact Could the James Cook Contract Negotiation Have for the Buffalo Bills in 2025?
If Cook and the Bills get a deal done before the start of the season, then we should expect him to continue to lead this rushing attack in 2025.
If Buffalo doesn’t give him a new deal before the start of the season, then things could get very interesting.
Shook concluded, “If Buffalo doesn’t pay Cook, somebody else will, given that he maintains the performance he’s demonstrated over the last two seasons.”
If Cook were to holdout, then Ray Davis and Ty Johnson would step into larger roles immediately — but would likely split the work with Davis being the preferred option on earlier downs and short yardage situations while Johnson dominates passing down work.
The Bills Mafia hope it won’t come down to that, but this contract negotiation could have a profound impact on the Bills’ offensive production in 2025 if the two sides don’t get something done in the coming weeks.
