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

[Straight Hucklebuck]

4 hours ago, SCBills said:

 

Not really a fair comment.. Ray Davis was used, a lot, end of game grind the clock out against heavy boxes.

Okay

[SoonerBillsFan]

19 hours ago, cd1 said:

Cook has been a great RB for the Bills.

 

BUT - "when they show you who they are, believe them the first time!"

 

He is showing himself to be a DIVA. His social media demonstration is an attempt to hold the Bills hostage. 

 

If he succeeds, he will continue this behavior. 

 

No mater how good Diggs was we were better off with him GONE.

 

The fact this Front office dealt with this in regards to Diggs makes me wonder if they want to put up with it again, OR have they learned their lesson?

 

[HerdMentality]

Quote

 

Posted Saturday at 11:01 PM

  On 2/13/2025 at 9:40 PM,  HerdMentality said:

Hey Joe Marino. I know you're here. You stole my intellectual property.

-------

Not exactly sitting well with me, Joe. We should probably talk.

 

 

Maybe DM me, Joe. You've monetized it. Probably tm'd it. You might want to protect your longterm brand.

 

I can be reasonable if you are.

[Beck Water]

On 2/13/2025 at 9:56 PM, Doc Brown said:

Not me.  When I saw his agent saying he'd play against the Jets and then he didn't I knew what he was all about.  Make him hold out, play this year begrudgingly, and hope for a comp pick next year.

 

?? huh ??

[Doc Brown]

1 hour ago, Beck Water said:

 

?? huh ??

When I saw his agent saying he'd play against the Jets and then he didn't I knew what he was all about.

[Richard Noggin]

4 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

When I saw his agent saying he'd play against the Jets and then he didn't I knew what he was all about.

 

So this is a spicy claim. Did you already provide evidence of it in this thread? 

 

Also, why not actually share what you know he's all about? I'm genuinely curious, and most likely at least partially aligned.

 

I think Cook is a special talent on the field; a true homerun hitter out of the backfield. And also, to my eye, gets a TON of sneaky, greasy yardage after contact with his shiftiness and forward lean. Defenders have a tough time squaring up Jimbo. 

 

I also think Cook is 100% about maximizing his next contract. We can't ignore the noise coming from his older brother, who has some experience with maximizing a 2nd contract as his production spikes...but then never getting back to that level, and frankly just falling off the map. The year they paid Cook in September, and he went off for 1500+ rushing yards at 5 YPC, the Vikings went 7-9. Rookie WR Jefferson piled up 1400 explosive yards. But the Vikings went 7-9.

 

Paying top RBs big money is rarely correlated with championships. Barkley stands out as an exception. 

 

 

[BillsFanForever19]

22 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

So this is a spicy claim. Did you already provide evidence of it in this thread? 

 

The post raised my eyebrow as well. He's referring to this:

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/41753207/bills-rb-james-cook-questionable-toe-injury-plans-play

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/bills-james-cook-inactive-versus-jets/

 

Seems OP took the fact that the Agent spoke up and said he plans on playing when the team later decided not to play him as evidence that he'd be difficult in negotiations. Bit of a leap, in my opinion.

[Doc Brown]

1 hour ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

So this is a spicy claim. Did you already provide evidence of it in this thread? 

 

Also, why not actually share what you know he's all about? I'm genuinely curious, and most likely at least partially aligned.

 

I think Cook is a special talent on the field; a true homerun hitter out of the backfield. And also, to my eye, gets a TON of sneaky, greasy yardage after contact with his shiftiness and forward lean. Defenders have a tough time squaring up Jimbo. 

 

I also think Cook is 100% about maximizing his next contract. We can't ignore the noise coming from his older brother, who has some experience with maximizing a 2nd contract as his production spikes...but then never getting back to that level, and frankly just falling off the map. The year they paid Cook in September, and he went off for 1500+ rushing yards at 5 YPC, the Vikings went 7-9. Rookie WR Jefferson piled up 1400 explosive yards. But the Vikings went 7-9.

 

Paying top RBs big money is rarely correlated with championships. Barkley stands out as an exception. 

 

 

Not really a spicy claim.  It struck me odd that Cook's agent told Schefter that he was playing on MNF despite being questionable.  Great game to showcase your client.  It was even weirder that he didn't play.  I expected something like this to happen once the season ended because his agent obviously doesn't like to work behind the scenes and I don't think Cook does this without his agent's directive.

 

As far as Barkley goes, the rest of their foundation was strong enough they could afford that luxury.  Their wasn't a glaring weakness on that Eagles team.  Barkley is an amazing RB but only managed 3.9ypc being the bad Giants o-line in 2023.  The Bills have too many holes on the rest of their roster to give a RB $15m a year.  If there was ever a time to sell high for Cook it would be now given his TD's are likely to regress towards the mean next year and he was great in that KC playoff game.  Plus, it was the year of the Renaissance of the running back.  If he's not traded I fully expect him to hold out and it'll be fascinating to watch as he'll be the first player ever to do so in McBeane's eight years here.  I guess I've seen enough examples over the years of never giving running backs second contracts when their value is at an all time high.  Fans, ownership, GM's, etc. will sometimes become emotionally attached to a running back and it will cloud their judgment when giving out big contracts.

[BillsFan130]

9 hours ago, HerdMentality said:

 

Maybe DM me, Joe. You've monetized it. Probably tm'd it. You might want to protect your longterm brand.

 

I can be reasonable if you are.

? What happened?

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Would you do this?

 

Bills can sign Cook by adding 2-3 void years at the end of the contract to spread out the cap hit. You could keep the cap hits pretty low but you’d have a big cap charge if Cook gets released of walks in free agency at the end of the deal.

 

So basically you keep Cook at a low cap number and go for a Super Bowl for 3-4 years.

 

I think the Bills have to think about doing these types of deals as we’re basically in the middle of Allen’s prime years. We can’t worry too much about cap ramifications 4-5 years from now.

I think I would do 1 of 2 things. Pay cook and add multiple void years to keep the cap low or just go with cheap RBs by committee. I wouldn’t trade Cook and also draft another RB in the 2nd round. Either spend assets on RB or don’t. If you draft another RB high in the draft you’re still using valuable assets.

 

Edited Tuesday at 12:21 PM by Buffalo_Stampede

[colin]

i think cook gets 10-12 pretty easy.  15 is a big stretch, but not miles off.

 

he's not an everydown player, marino points out he's 45% of snaps vs 75% that the top rbs are.  if we lose johnson, he might be a 60% guy imo.  if he could make his pass blocking very good to great instead of poor, he'd potentially be a near 70% of snaps guy.  i think all of that caps his total value, which gets us right back to 10-12 IMO.

 

if he holds out he's cooking (LOL, SO CLEVER) his own career, so i think he shows up at camp and they work something out.  if he does hold out i'd be honestly shocked if mcbean played ball.  

[frostbitmic]

By taking his contract desires to IG and Tweeter, I'd assume that Cook's agent and the Bills have had their initial contract talk and they are nowhere close to a re-signing.

 

When Cook plays near the snap % that Saquon Barkley plays, rushes for 2000+ yards and helps his team win a Super Bowl, then he should be paid comparable to Barkley, until then he can slot himself between the players below him.

[PromoTheRobot]

Just now, frostbitmic said:

By taking his contract desires to IG and Tweeter, I'd assume that Cook's agent and the Bills have had their initial contract talk and they are nowhere close to a re-signing.

 

When Cook plays near the snap % that Saquon Barkley plays, rushes for 2000+ yards and helps his team win a Super Bowl, then he should be paid comparable to Barkley, until then he can slot himself between the players below him.

 

It's a bad sign when an agent/player take things public. It's a "nuclear option" designed to put public pressure on the team. To do it this early shows bad faith from the player's camp. Especially when the Bills under this regime has shown a desire to do right by players. 

[Sweats]

Get rid of Cook, keep Davis and draft Skattebo

[Beck Water]

8 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

When I saw his agent saying he'd play against the Jets and then he didn't I knew what he was all about.

 

Yes, that's what you typed previously.

 

I assume you're talking about the Week 6 Jets game, where Cook DNP Weds and Thurs and was limited on Fri with the dreaded "turf toe" injury.

I have no idea how that lets you know "what he was all about", do you care to explain?

[Beck Water]

30 minutes ago, frostbitmic said:

By taking his contract desires to IG and Tweeter, I'd assume that Cook's agent and the Bills have had their initial contract talk and they are nowhere close to a re-signing.

 

When Cook plays near the snap % that Saquon Barkley plays, rushes for 2000+ yards and helps his team win a Super Bowl, then he should be paid comparable to Barkley, until then he can slot himself between the players below him.

 

I would actually assume they have not had their contract talk because Beane has historically made it clear that he handles FA, then the draft, then extensions.   The agent may have called and said "my guy wants an extension this off season, let's talk" and Beane said "absolutely, I'm open to talking".

I'm with you on the snap %.   I posted about that previously, where I don't get what arguments Cook and his agents have for making him the 2nd highest paid RB in the league in AAV.  The top RBs in the league last year carry a heavier workload (Henry, Barkley, Robinson, Taylor, Jacobs) - all over 300 snaps to Cook's 200 snaps.  , He doesn't have the pass-catching chops of  McCaffrey or Kamara - in fact, he saw his pass targets drop considerably in part because he had hella drops in 2023.  

He's a fine player.  But Barkley had 14 games where he gained more than 100 yds last season, including 2 in the playoffs.  He had 2 200 yd games, including one in the playoffs!  Henry had 10 games where he gained more than 100 yards, including 186 yds in the playoffs.  The 49ers aren't getting their ROI overall from McCaffrey, but  when he's healthy, like in 2023 he gained >2000 yds from scrimmage.

Cook hasn't shown he can carry that kind of workload and give that kind of gameday impact to a team.  He had 5 games >100 yds and 2 games >80 and no games with more than 30 yds receiving. 

He's a fine back and he had a monster game in the playoffs vs. Denver.  Give him his propers.  But don't give him $15M a year.

 

 

[Mat68]

Why are so many protectors of Billionaires money?  Dude hasn’t said a word publicly.  His brother and agent are trying to get him the best deal.  It’s uncomfortable but it does not reflect his character in any way.  Using the levers to get the best deal is no different than guys being cut or traded in the next weeks by the organization.  He play well.  He is the best weapon on offense.  I dont want to get in the habit of eroding Allen of his playmakers because he will “make it work”.  The Eagles had 359 mil of void money the Bills had 35.  The team needs to make it work. 

[Beck Water]

7 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

Not really a spicy claim.  It struck me odd that Cook's agent told Schefter that he was playing on MNF despite being questionable.  Great game to showcase your client.  It was even weirder that he didn't play.  I expected something like this to happen once the season ended because his agent obviously doesn't like to work behind the scenes and I don't think Cook does this without his agent's directive.

 

I dunno what part the agent plays in this.  I think it's pretty clear players do things all the time without their agents' direction, and sometimes that their agents do damage control for.  I wasn't paying attention during Dalvin Cook's contract negotiations 'cuz, not my guy, not my team, but both Cooks do have the same agency.

 

At the time Cook said about the toe injury, "It's getting better. Just improving every day," Cook said after Saturday's practice. "Trying to get it back stronger, and go out there and help the team, like I said, I'm just taking it day by day, treatment, see what, how I feel on Monday."  That sounds entirely like a guy who plans to play but knows he might not be able to.  He and his agent both know it's a national game, all players like to excel on a national stage.

 

Puffing that into "I could tell what he was all about" as a player or as a negotiator seems like a stretch.

The bottom line is, the Bills don't have to negotiate with Cook at all.  He's under contract to them for another year.  He plays for us or for no one.

5 minutes ago, Mat68 said:

Why are so many protectors of Billionaires money?  Dude hasn’t said a word publicly.  His brother and agent are trying to get him the best deal.  It’s uncomfortable but it does not reflect his character in any way.  Using the levers to get the best deal is no different than guys being cut or traded in the next weeks by the organization.  He play well.  He is the best weapon on offense.  I dont want to get in the habit of eroding Allen of his playmakers because he will “make it work”.  The Eagles had 359 mil of void money the Bills had 35.  The team needs to make it work. 

 

Um, no.  No, he's not the best weapon on offense.  That was, is, and remains, Allen.  Who by the way, is grossly under-paid by today's market.

 

I want to see Allen keep his playmakers and add to them, sure.  But I want to see a better defense on the opposite side of the field, as well.

 

It's not about "protecting billionaires money", it's about a finite salary cap, and about how once you pay one guy substantially over market value, the rest of the team watches and says "where's mine?"

Edited Tuesday at 03:07 PM by Beck Water

[Ya Digg?]

12 hours ago, HerdMentality said:

 

Maybe DM me, Joe. You've monetized it. Probably tm'd it. You might want to protect your longterm brand.

 

I can be reasonable if you are.

Dude what are you doing? 

[BarleyNY]

11 minutes ago, Mat68 said:

Why are so many protectors of Billionaires money?  Dude hasn’t said a word publicly.  His brother and agent are trying to get him the best deal.  It’s uncomfortable but it does not reflect his character in any way.  Using the levers to get the best deal is no different than guys being cut or traded in the next weeks by the organization.  He play well.  He is the best weapon on offense.  I dont want to get in the habit of eroding Allen of his playmakers because he will “make it work”.  The Eagles had 359 mil of void money the Bills had 35.  The team needs to make it work. 

Have you heard of the salary cap? No reason to overpay a player because they’re throwing out ridiculous numbers publicly. And posting on social media counts as publicly saying words. I’d love for Pegula to open the purse strings and adopt the Eagles salary cap model, but that does not mean overpaying players as doing so would immediately and completely destroy the advantage it is designed to create. Lastly, no, the Bills do not need to make this work. They should offer a fair deal at market value. If Cook doesn’t want to make that work, then it’s on him not the Bills.