James Cook on IG Live - "15 mill year" EDIT: Scrubbed his IG and Doubled Down on Twitter

[Success]

I love Cook, like we all do. 

 

For most running backs, you kind of take the rookie deal & move on.  

 

[alg]

22 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Crosby is entering his age 28 season and Garrett his age 29 season.

 

They are 21 months difference in age not 3 years (your 27 and 30 analogy).

 

Crosby is coming off an injury plagued season and has never been a first team All Pro or serious NFLDPOY contender(highest finish 4th).   Garrett is coming off a NFLDPOY type season......after winning it the season before.......and is a 4 time first team All Pro.  

 

Crosby has been very good, until this season.......but Garrett is clearly the better player by a significant margin.    

 

Garrett's .88 sacks per game career versus Crosby's .63 is a massive disparity. 

Still, nearly 2 years difference is a big deal in players near 30. And Garret does turn 30 during the 2025 season.

 

I'm sure you're right about the disparity in play. I simply do not want to mortgage 5 years future for 2 years play.

 

My idea was to use Cook/Miller for Crosby with little to no picks. Maybe that's impractical. Maybe I have Cosby's value to high. IDK. But I sure as hell do not want to dance with another Von Miller pipe dream that blows up in our face - all because McBeane can't evaluate/draft DLs.

 

PS: I was adamantly AGAINST the Von Miller signing. I knew it was a disaster then. Maybe it would have worked without the injury, but I'm not against a Garrett trade because of it.

Edited February 12 by alg

[H2o]

I'll pass on a $15M price tag for a RB. We can draft one of the many. 

[Matt_In_NH]

The Henry/Barkley signings and results are interesting.  I like Cook a lot but he is not in that category, I would not pay a RF like that unless they are Henry or Barkley like.

 

Henry got  2 year/16 million

Barkley 3 year 37 million

 

Not doing Cook's number..........

Edited February 12 by Matt_In_NH

[YoloinOhio]

Would love to have him back but no way on overpayment. He’ll end up somewhere obscure like Gabe Davis 

Edited February 12 by YoloinOhio

[Mister Defense]

11 hours ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

See ya later Cook. 

 

This class is too loaded at RB to be held hostage. 

Yikes, as if the last few years never happened in the NFL.

 

Same kind of shocking ignorance that had posters railing against Marshawn Lynch and thinking his trade to the Seahawks was a good move.

 

Good, great, elite running backs are NOT a dime a dozen. Please watch the last season again... and with open eyes.

 

He won't get 20 million but likely 15 on average.  And nope, he will cost more than a dime.  Sorry.

 

 

12 hours ago, ghostwriter said:

I have no idea how much he will get paid but I do think Beane should exhaust all options to convince him to stay long term.

 

Bills fans are looking at this the wrong way. They see a RB, I see a weapon. Whenever we can add a weapon I think we should do it.

 

Barkley certainly helped the Eagles in a profound way this year, did he not?

 

 

It is just like the McDermott haters, and often the same group.  You cannot change their views, no matter the clear trend in the NFL the last few years, and the immense value of a high level running back to creating a championship contender.

 

They just close their eyes and repeat the cliches about running backs and the running game not being that relevant, that so many ignorant people have been saying for years. They believe that repeating others' ignorant thoughts makes theirs legitimate, sharp.

 

 

 

 

[extrahammer]

So we've gone from $20 million a year during the season down to $15 million now, and fans are ready to send him packing? He's doing the anchoring effect in negotiations but really it just sets the ceiling. I bet he'd sign for $10 million a year. 

[Bockeye]

17 minutes ago, H2o said:

I'll pass on a $15M price tag for a RB. We can draft one of the many. 

I agree with not paying a RB too much, but why do we need to draft one?

 

Ty Johnson is easily a better pass catcher than Cook, better pass blocker than Cook, and I think, possibly just as good runner (5.2 ypc this season) and we have Davis, and Gore Jr.   Cook didn’t exactly light it up his rookie year.  

 

Ty Johnson is a 4 down back.  I think we need to stop the narrative we would have to draft a #1 back to replace Cook.

 

Edited February 12 by Bockeye

[Jerome007]

12 hours ago, ghostwriter said:

He’s worth it. He should be a priority. He’s worth every penny. If Allen is having a bad game Cook can carry the team.

Cook can cook. For sure. But that OLine is a big reason why. If we go to Davis, Ty (if resigned) and another back, sure it would be a drop off. But not a 15M drop off

[Mister Defense]

Honestly, those just throwing Cook overboard and somehow still suggesting that good running backs are a dime a dozen, easily replaced, are spewing some of the most ignorant, outrageous football nonsense imaginable.

 

How outrageous? One poster comparing the loss of Cook to the loss of Gabe Davis last year, somehow equating the two players and  their value to the Bills. Yikes, yikes and more yikes. 

 

Scary ignorance, making me so happy that none of those crazy thoughts are likely shared by any sentient leader at One Bills Drive. 

[Brand J]

27 minutes ago, Magox said:

I think most of you are off base and the way you are viewing playmaking RB's are outdated.

 

One thing was clear this year, the teams that continued with this outdated way of thinking on playmaking RB's and didn't retain their stars paid the price.

 

Saquon Barkley, the Giants offered less than $12M a year and as a result paid the price.

Josh Jacobs, the Raiders didn't want to pay $12M a year and all he did was end up with 1800 total yards and 16 TD's.

Derrick Henry, Titans fell apart and Ravens had their best offense ever with Henry accumulating over 2100 total yards and 18 TD's.

Joe Mixon, he carried that offense for much of the season, whereas the Bengals had their worst ground game in years.

 

All this because they wanted to save a few million dollars.   Just to put this into context, Gabe Davis signed a contract at $13M a year, more than any of the RB's that I just mentioned.

 

Playmakers at any position should get paid at a premium.  The pendulum swung way too much to undervaluing playmaking RB's and I believe you'll see that trend begin to go to it's medium.  

 

Cook was a playmaker for the Bills, he was explosive, made lots of plays that other RB's could not make and broke lots of long runs.  He was even more impressive around the goal line and showed he has a knack for getting into the endzone.   What about that short goal line run against the Chiefs? Holy!  That was as spectacular of a 1 yard run I've seen in a Bills uniform, only a handful of RB's in the league could have made that play.  Not to mention he's a good receiving back.

 

His $15M a year is a starting point and it's a very reasonable one.  The Bills should absolutely look to get a deal done for him and they probably will settle around the $13M a year mark which is a hell of a deal for a playmaker.   I would be sick to my stomach if he ended up going to another team after this season.

When the NFL turned into an aerial league RBs were immediately devalued, but I agree with you. No one can tell me J Jefferson at $35M/yr is worth that much more than Barkley at $12M/yr. I mean, we just saw MVP voting and Offensive Player of the Year awards. I think the contracts are out of whack and because we had two RBs who were serious contenders for MVP much of the season, there needs to be a re-evaluation of value among positions. The little WR from Baltimore, Zay Flowers, may likely be in the $28M/yr range when his contract comes due, but his value to that Raven offense wasn’t greater than Henry and he makes a paltry $8M/yr. I remember a few years ago RBs tried to voice their concerns to the NFLPA, but their voices should be even louder this offseason. 

[uticaclub]

7 minutes ago, Mister Defense said:

Same kind of shocking ignorance that had posters railing against Marshawn Lynch and thinking his trade to the Seahawks was a good move.

Marshawn was out of shape and uninterested when we traded him. Still a terrible move and never should have drafted Spiller.

 

[Chicken Boo]

1 hour ago, Low Positive said:

I know you are trying to make a point here, but Andy Reid rotated RBs between Hunt, Pacheco, and Perine all season including in key moments in the AFC CG. 

 

Pacheco was his #1 before the injury and then Hunt stepped in and performed better than a healthy Pacheco.  

 

When they really needed that extra yard or goal line score, they used Hunt.

 

Perine saw very few touches, but being an ace receiving option, he was used to throw defenses off like the Bills on that pivotal 3rd down.  

 

Andy Reid knows how to use weapons like Damien Wiliams, Brian Westbrook, and Shady McCoy.  James Cook would be no different.  

[Mister Defense]

Just now, uticaclub said:

Marshawn was out of shape and uninterested when we traded him. Still a terrible move and never should have drafted Spiller.

 

 

Hmm, I was there for his last game when the conventional wisdom was that he was just being used then, after not getting consistent carries, because the Bills wanted to showcase him for trade value.

 

For an out of shape guy he looked like the super fast,  bruising, unstoppable force that he was then, and that he would be for years, leading to several Seattle Super Bowls and Hall of Fame career.

 

I think that out of shape crap was just the Bills, or media, covering their backs, knowing what an amazing player he was.

 

 

[DapperCam]

41 minutes ago, Magox said:

I think most of you are off base and the way you are viewing playmaking RB's are outdated.

 

One thing was clear this year, the teams that continued with this outdated way of thinking on playmaking RB's and didn't retain their stars paid the price.

 

Saquon Barkley, the Giants offered less than $12M a year and as a result paid the price.

Josh Jacobs, the Raiders didn't want to pay $12M a year and all he did was end up with 1800 total yards and 16 TD's.

Derrick Henry, Titans fell apart and Ravens had their best offense ever with Henry accumulating over 2100 total yards and 18 TD's.

Joe Mixon, he carried that offense for much of the season, whereas the Bengals had their worst ground game in years.

 

All this because they wanted to save a few million dollars.   Just to put this into context, Gabe Davis signed a contract at $13M a year, more than any of the RB's that I just mentioned.

 

Playmakers at any position should get paid at a premium.  The pendulum swung way too much to undervaluing playmaking RB's and I believe you'll see that trend begin to go to it's medium.  

 

Cook was a playmaker for the Bills, he was explosive, made lots of plays that other RB's could not make and broke lots of long runs.  He was even more impressive around the goal line and showed he has a knack for getting into the endzone.   What about that short goal line run against the Chiefs? Holy!  That was as spectacular of a 1 yard run I've seen in a Bills uniform, only a handful of RB's in the league could have made that play.  Not to mention he's a good receiving back.

 

His $15M a year is a starting point and it's a very reasonable one.  The Bills should absolutely look to get a deal done for him and they probably will settle around the $13M a year mark which is a hell of a deal for a playmaker.   I would be sick to my stomach if he ended up going to another team after this season.

The Eagles, Ravens and Texans all had very similar seasons to the prior season. Only the Eagles really improved, but last season was a weird one (they went from SB, to looking like an elite team and then going on a late season slide, then back to the SB).

 

It isn’t clear to me at all that paying a play making RB is a good investment.

[bigduke6]

i dont blame Cook.  hes nothing without that OLine opening up the holes though.  its a team game and this is Cooks chance to get paid but this is going to be a hard discussion in the FO.  especially with what Davis and Ty can do.   i dont want to hear about Barkley either.  he went to the best OLine in the league that opened monster holes for him,  and he managed to stay healthy for once.  something he couldnt do for the Giants.  overpaying for RBs is a luxury most of the league cant afford.  

Edited February 12 by bigduke6

[Maine-iac]

I think the biggest thing that can't be said enough is that he is taken off the field when pass protection is critical.  If he was on the field in any situation, pass blocking, making critical catches, and using his running ability and speed there might be an argument.  That said he comes off the field in many situations and in that respect somewhat hard to compare to upper echelon RB's despite his ability.

[Bruffalo]

It's important to value yourself in a negotiation. That's really all he's doing here. 

 

What they should do is give him 10 million and help him land a PR/Commercial campaign to pay him the remaining 5. Don't tell me "that's not legal in the NFL", teams are doing stuff like that all over the place.   

[Maine-iac]

I mean if he asks for 15 and signs for 10 to 12 probably everyone is happy.

[Einstein's Dog]

3 minutes ago, Mister Defense said:

Honestly, those just throwing Cook overboard and somehow still suggesting that good running backs are a dime a dozen, easily replaced, are spewing some of the most ignorant, outrageous football nonsense imaginable.

 

How outrageous? One poster comparing the loss of Cook to the loss of Gabe Davis last year, somehow equating the two players and  their value to the Bills. Yikes, yikes and more yikes. 

 

Scary ignorance, making me so happy that none of those crazy thoughts are likely shared by any sentient leader at One Bills Drive. 

These "sentient leaders" at One Bills Drive have never paid big money to an RB.  And now people want the FO to pay Cook nearly double what D Henry is getting?

 

And I agree, G Davis is not a good comparable to Cook.  G Davis played out his contract with no problem, J Cook is showing signs of being a malcontent right now.  The FO would be wise to send him packing before he becomes an even bigger problem.  Plus J Cook has more value in a trade than G Davis had.

 

The priority add for the FO this year is an elite DL player.  And J Cook has just put himself front and center to be a part of swinging for that piece.