BillsFanForever19

You're not wrong that production matters. But what matters just as much if not more is age, an ascending ceiling (Cook has gotten better every year), and wear and tear. As you said, he's used sparingly with us. Which results in less wear and tear. And when it comes to a player looking for a contract, they price themselves at their production per usage. He's not going to price himself lower bc the team he plays for utilizes him less. Using Barkley and Henry as examples - Barkley is 3 years older and Henry is 6 years older. Barkley has had ACL reconstruction and Henry has had recurring foot issues. Cook has none of those. And with each year generally comes a rise in the salary cap, which results in a rise in salary. That's why every year, there's a new top contract being handed out for a new position. And a new contract where people laugh and think they're overpaid. All that said, i'm not saying *we* should pay him 15. But him asking for 15 isn't as insane as you'd think. If he hit the market, there's probably a team who would pay him that or close to it.

Exactly. There's been no buzz about Miami being open to moving Waddle. Even if there were - they wouldn't want to move him in the Division and we wouldn't want to move Cook within the Division.

Two things can be true: 1.) James Cook is totally justified for trying to maximize his value. 2.) We shouldn't pay what his perceived max value is. He has 100% outplayed his Rookie contract and he's on the last year of it. The next contract is his first chance to cash in and with the position he plays, could possibly be his last - you never know. He's making 5.6m this year and if he were to get injured this year, it would greatly effect his ability to cash in. Maybe ever. On one hand, the 15m asking point seems crazy. On the other - he's 25 years old, a 2 time Pro Bowler, who has gotten better with each year and could continue to ascend, and hasn't suffered any major injuries. Saquon is 28, Derrick Henry is 31, and both have a lot less tread on their tires. Saquon has had ACL reconstruction and Derrick Henry has had recurring foot problems. These are things that factor into contracts just as much if not more than "he's better on the field". Then you take into account the rise in salary's with the rise in the salary cap on a yearly basis and yeah, 15 isn't absolutely insane. That said - would I give him a contract that large? Probably not. And i'm guessing Beane is probably of the same mind. Which is most likely why we're in the situation we're in. Either Beane has been not talking contract with his agent or his number is further away from Cook and Cook's agents number and it's upset him. Where I take issue is the idea that what he's doing makes him "a cancer". It's the offseason. It's business time. You can play hardball in business and still be a consumate professional in the locker room. No one has ever said anything negatively about how Cook handles himself in the locker room, practice, and the football field. On the contrary, Sean McDermott raved about him recently in a way you don't often hear from him: People are comparing him with Stefon Diggs. There's a major difference between what Diggs did and what Cook is doing. Cook is just upset over money. He wants the Bills to pay him before he hits Free Agency. Diggs was taking pot shots at the team and Josh Allen and was trying to get himself off of the team. There are just as many instances of players taking their displeasure with the negotiations with their team publicly that have worked it out, stayed, and not been an issue after that. Business is seperate. I don't fault Cook for doing what he's doing and I don't think it makes him immature or a cancer. What he's doing is normal in today's day and age of Social Media and NFL negotiations. But, again, if he doesn't come down at least a little bit from that price - I think i'd sadly have to consider moving him. 12-13 would be my max price.

What are you getting at here?

Did I say that his social media means nothing? No. Obviously, if he was liking what he was hearing and felt comfortable with things - he wouldn't be doing that. And how do you know he hasn't met with the team or negotiated with them? That's an assumption. And if I were going to make an assumption here, it would be that the number he and his agent are hearing aren't close to his liking. Thus the public grievance of saying "15 mill year". "Incredibly self-absorbed or an idiot"? Jesus. Overreaction much?

Objectively, the worst Bills player of all time is probably a player who was the 53rd man on the roster in a given year and never saw the field to show how bad he was.

There's a lot of cranky old people on this board who just don't understand the times. They see what has become standard operating procedure in today's day and age for high profile players who are upset with their negotiations as an insult to them personally, a sign of immaturity, and a mark on their character. That's not what it is. Every single year, you'll see a handful or more of players doing this when their negotiations aren't going well or they're unhappy with their situation. Like I said, it's become standard operating procedure. Back in the day, they'd leak things to the press. Nowadays, they don't have to. Social media changed everything. My favorites are the ones that like to compare an NFL player to themselves and say like "if I did something like this at my job - i'd be fired". Like it's remotely comparable 😄

The 90's kid in me popped for this tweet. Never noticed the correlation.

True - but liquid cash in a contract still effects the Salary Cap. You can't say "i'm signing you to a 4 year contract with a 1m cap hit annually, but paying you 14m in cash".

Correct. But if the dialogue between he and his agent were going swimmingly in Cook and/or Cook's agents view, he wouldn't be doing these things on Social Media. I said the same thing about Stefon Diggs last season...

He's a Middle Linebacker. Are you putting Terrel Bernard on the bench? No. Are you trading for a Starter and taking on an 8m cap hit to make the guy your backup? No. There's a ton of things we have to do this offseason. A starting Linebacker isn't one of them.

This is where I reach a breaking point when it comes to the RB conversation. Everyone likes to say "RB's are a dime a dozen". RB's like James Cook are NOT a dime a dozen. We've spent the entire Beane regime signing RB's, trading for RB's, and Drafting RB's with Day 2 picks. And no one we've brought in has come close to what James Cook brings to the table. We would not have gotten to the point we did with other RB's. He has a combination of speed, vision, elusiveness, and difficulty to take down that you are going to be very hard pressed replacing by just Drafting another RB. All that said though, 15m is too much to ask.

Frank Gore Jr. chimes in with "U deserve it". Jonathan Taylor makes 14m per and Saquon Barkley makes 12.5m per. 15 is a wild ask. I hope we aren't setting up for an offseason holdout. Update:

Feels like putting a 2nd Round Pick into a Safety last season and then signing the most expensive Safety on the market this season is a lot of resources put into that position group. But if they feel Cole Bishop needs another year after missing Training Camp last season (and looking overwhelmed as a Rookie) and the plan is to move on from Taylor Rapp after this year and have Cole Bishop replace him then - it could make some sense. We do need a replacement and upgrade from Damar Hamlin. Though Holland would be a lot of money and I'd definitely be prioritizing the starting replacements at WR and CB and upgrades at DE and 1T DT first.

Oh, trust me, like I said in the OP - I'd prefer something more than Hollywood Brown. If it were up to me, calling around about a Trade for a True #1 WR and then going all in on Tee Higgins (if he wasn't franchised) if the calls around got us nowhere would be my first priority. I'm just saying that if it is true that there's interest in Hollywood - it could be that they're looking at cheaper options than even Amari Cooper bc they plan on their big spending going elsewhere. Even if we did tab Hollywood for Cooper's roster spot - I'd want us to carry 6 WR's this year and Draft a WR somewhere as further insurance.

Quality of WR overall, i'd agree with you that Hollywood Brown is not an upgrade from Amari Cooper. But he is a different type of WR than Cooper and has a skillset that we're missing that Cooper doesn't possess in speed. More importantly than that though, he will be cheaper than Amari Cooper. And if they choose to focus on Defense with a big move like Myles Garrett, as well as finding replacements for Rasul Douglas, Daquan Jones, and Damar Hamlin - retaining Amari Cooper (along with Mack Hollins) may be out of our price range.

Courtland Sutton isn't a Free Agent.

That doesn't mean we should just rely on average WR's bc Josh can get the best out of them. Many of us believe that neglecting the WR position with average targets outside of Diggs has been doing both Josh and the team a disservice. Especially this year when we didn't even have Diggs. I understand not being wow'ed by a Hollywood Brown signing in 2025. And Samuel will be here regardless. We signed him to a 3 year deal and moving on from him this season would result in an 11+m Dead Cap hit. But as I said, I can't agree with *relying* on Coleman & Kincaid to step up. Hope for it? Sure. But we cannot simply just roll it back without contingencies in place in the very real scenario that it doesn't happen. And if they do and you have added talent on top of it, now you're really talking. And just Drafting a WR to replace is not enough. This isn't a great WR class and even in a great one like last season, the odds that you're getting impact from a Rookie WR at the end of Round 2 (as most expect the 1 will be used on a Defender, Veteran or Rookie) is slim to none.

No veteran WR is "super cheap". But as I was saying to Noggin, he's coming off of a year where he was injured in the offseason and on IR until Week 17 - under a 6.5m contract. I don't see any way he's signing to anything big or getting a raise from that 6.5. Likely less.

I'd say that's the bare minimum. I and some others are of the mind that they should be looking at obtaining a True #1 WR from Trade or get in on the Tee Higgins race if he isn't tagged. Hollywood is coming off of a 1 year, 7m contract with 6.5m guaranteed - that saw him make his debut with the team in Week 17. So I don't think "Hollywood money" is going to be much and wouldn't be anything more than a 1 year deal - if there's anything to this report. Our lack of guys who could create separation and our general lack of talent at the pass catching positions was as big of a reason we didn't advance in the Playoffs as any, in my opinion. In the Playoffs, we had to rely on James Cook entirely too much. We have to replace Amari Cooper's spot on the 53 anyways - so we'll be adding at least 1 regardless. I'd prefer to roll with 6 this year, especially if they were going with a question mark like Brown for that position. But either way - simply running it back with Shakir, Coleman, Hollins, and Samuel and relying on Kincaid and Coleman showing growth would be simply unacceptable in my eyes. Regardless of what they do on Defense. If it were just them pondering the fit and saying they could see it happening, I'd agree with you. But citing people they talked to specifically from the Chiefs lends me to believe that it happened. Fowler and Graziano are pretty big reporters at ESPN and quoting people from a specific organization that never happened seems a stretch. The real question to me is whether or not whomever they spoke to at the Chiefs have actual Intel on Josh's feelings towards Brown or if they were just spitballing to Fowler and Graziano.

https://billswire.usatoday.com/2025/02/10/buffalo-bills-josh-allen-wants-play-kansas-city-chiefs-hollyood-marquise-brown-nfl/ It's an interesting quote. I'm not sure if there's legs to it or not. If Josh has "long" wanted him on the team - why didn't they push to sign him last year when they paid more for Curtis Samuel? I suppose it's possible that the Chiefs' contract he signed was something he settled for after asking for too much early in Free Agency and the music had pretty much stopped in the WR musical chairs - including us signing Samuel for his spot. Hollywood Brown coming off of a season long injury this season does seem like a Brandon Beane low risk, potential high reward budget type signing though. Brown definitely has speed and field stretching ability. But his injury history is a definite risk. Honestly, I'd hope for something more at the WR position. But if the 1st pick and large amounts of cap are designated to acquiring big pieces on Defense - something like Brown with a 2nd Round Pick and re-signing Hollins, to go along with Shakir, Coleman, and Samuel might be the play they go with. Though they'd better hope that Brown stayed healthy, Samuel had a better year without getting hurt, the pick provides impact, and/or Coleman answers the gut check they issued him at the year end presser.

We would have gotten stomped. Maybe not as badly, as I think Josh would have protected the ball better. But just as likely, the result would have been the same - or possibly even worse. We'd have been rolling out Kaiir Elam again. There's no way, even with 2 weeks, that the NFL would have cleared Benford after taking two concussions in a week's time. Who knows if Rapp would have been ready or not either. AJ Brown and Devonta Smith would have eaten us for lunch. And while our Offensive Line may have handled Phili's Defensive Line better (maybe), I doubt we'd have handled stopping Saquon Barkley as well as KC's D-Line and Linebackers did. Especially when we'd be trying to support the broken down Secondary in coverage. The 2024 Eagles are the definition of a Super Bowl roster. Loaded at every spot. The 2024 Bills were an overachieving team, mostly due to the MVP play of Josh Allen, with a Roster in soft rebuild mode - dealing with injuries in the Secondary. We couldn't handle the team that got mollywhopped by the Eagles. You're kidding yourself if you think we'd have stood a chance tonight.

While there's truth to this - you'd have to be a serious homer to think we would win this game with how the Eagles are playing. Especially without Christian Benford and rolling Elam back out there. Ain't no way even with 2 weeks that they'd have cleared him after a 2nd concussion a week removed from his first. It stings slightly less to realize that even if we had won last week, we'd have been signing up for our 5th Super Bowl loss. The Eagles are a Super Bowl winning roster. Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown and Devonta Smith on the Outside. A very good Defense. And they're all playing their best ball.