Has Cook talked himself OFF the Bills for 2025

[Mr. WEO]

1 hour ago, JP51 said:

I am having thoughts of Levion Bell... 

 

this is a good comp.

 

 

[DaVinci]

Draft Bond,trade Cook

[FireChans]

1 hour ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

this is a good comp.

 

 

Melvin Gordon is even better. A nice back but not the best in the NFL. 
 

In fairness to Bell, he played good soldier for his entire rookie deal + tag.

[sfladave]

On 3/24/2025 at 9:46 AM, JohnNord said:

I always got the sense that Cook’s social was all posturing.  

IMO, Buffalo was ready to re-sign him at the lower range of $8-$15M.  Team Cook wanted the higher end and Beane said “work on areas of improvement (blocking) and we’ll revisit toward the end of the season.”  Buffalo has all the leverage.  He’s not going to hold out on his rookie contract.  Also they can just franchise tag him next season and still end up paying him less than the $15M he wants.  Plus is any team (not named NE) going to give Cook $15M?  Probably not.....

I think there may be a few teams willing to pay $15 mil/yr, especially after the Eagles, BIlls and Ravens showed how valuable a really good RB is. I'm not sure I want someone who is a good RB but not dynamic like Cook. We went through that since the early 2000s, with exception of Shady untill we got Cook.

Edited Wednesday at 08:15 PM by sfladave
Missplaced comment

[Mr. WEO]

3 hours ago, FireChans said:

Melvin Gordon is even better. A nice back but not the best in the NFL. 
 

In fairness to Bell, he played good soldier for his entire rookie deal + tag.

 

his holdout destroyed his career, or at least proved he wasn't going to maintain what was only 3 seasons of top running. 

[Warriorspikes51]

13 hours ago, Beast said:

The Bills would be smart to deal him, if there is a suitor, before or at the draft.

 

It’s not about talent. I sure do like Cook. It’s also that we have 2 other very capable RB’s on this team, and possibly a 3rd with Gore….and the RB class is very deep in this draft.

 

I just don’t think big money spent on Cook would be a wise investment for our team and the way it is constructed.

if anyone is willing to give us a 2nd above pick 50….even if we have to include a 4th next year or something….I’d strongly consider that

 

4 picks in the top 62 

 

grab 2 DL, a WR and  CB/S 

 

Edited Thursday at 05:20 AM by Warriorspikes51

[Thurman#1]

On 3/25/2025 at 2:38 AM, papazoid said:

i say he holds out this year.

 

he's a good candidate to get traded 

 

at $15/year....i see no future for him on bills

 

 

 

 

This year? Before his rookie contract is finished? 

 

That would be serious malcontent territory. Next year, if they franchise him? Much more feasible.

 

Can't see him holding out this offseason.

[DeepPass]

4 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

This year? Before his rookie contract is finished? 

 

That would be serious malcontent territory. Next year, if they franchise him? Much more feasible.

 

Can't see him holding out this offseason.

He'll become a very small blip on the Bills screen of success!

[Thurman#1]

On 3/24/2025 at 10:11 PM, SoMAn said:

Cook played an important role in 2024, making some great plays. But the reality is that the market for running backs just isn't what is was before rule changes and mobile QBs changed way most offenses operate. Some teams don't even have a roster spot for a fullback any more.

 

Would hate to lose Cook, but finding an adequate, or maybe equal RB wouldn't be as difficult as replacing a top edge rusher or CB. RBs typically have a shorter shelf life. He could have 5 more years of similar production before he starts to wear down. He's under contract this year.

 

Meanwhile, the Bills still have Davis and Gore Jr., both of whom have shown a lot of promise, and may be able to take on the role of feature back if Cook leaves for greener ($$) pastures.

 

Bottom line, don't break the bank for a running back when there are greater needs, particularly on defense.

 

 

Basically, I'd agree, but with the caveat that if you can find a guy like Saquon Barkley, a bell-cow back that has every skill you look for in an RB, those big contracts look a lot more reasonable. 

 

I don't think Cook fits that description, though, and I think the Bills are going to want to keep giving Cook the same amount of limited snaps in the future that he got last year, again making him less desirable than a guy like Saquon.

[Einstein's Dog]

7 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

This year? Before his rookie contract is finished? 

 

That would be serious malcontent territory. Next year, if they franchise him? Much more feasible.

 

Can't see him holding out this offseason.

Yes, Cook not playing for multiple games is a real fear to me.  

 

If, as some people have said, Cook could get around $12M/yr right now in FA (with say $15-$20M guaranteed) playing in 2025 for $5M seems risky.  If you are not increasing that projected salary, because you are plateauing at your 2024 stats (which would seem to be the predicted), the monetary reasons behind playing really weaken (you get the weekly amount of the $5M salary but put at risk the big $15-$20M guarantee payday).

 

Unfortunately, if I were Cook's agent, and I determined the market to be what was discussed above, I would be advising him not to play most of 2025 at $5M (hold out thru week 11).    I would be recommending that Cook forgo the $5M to take the anticipated guaranteed $15M in 2026.  $10M should be a life changing amount.

 

It could be a bad situation and I think the FO is looking at trade opportunities.

 

 

[ColoradoBills]

43 minutes ago, Einstein's Dog said:

Yes, Cook not playing for multiple games is a real fear to me.  

 

If, as some people have said, Cook could get around $12M/yr right now in FA (with say $15-$20M guaranteed) playing in 2025 for $5M seems risky.  If you are not increasing that projected salary, because you are plateauing at your 2024 stats (which would seem to be the predicted), the monetary reasons behind playing really weaken (you get the weekly amount of the $5M salary but put at risk the big $15-$20M guarantee payday).

 

Unfortunately, if I were Cook's agent, and I determined the market to be what was discussed above, I would be advising him not to play most of 2025 at $5M (hold out thru week 11).    I would be recommending that Cook forgo the $5M to take the anticipated guaranteed $15M in 2026.  $10M should be a life changing amount.

 

It could be a bad situation and I think the FO is looking at trade opportunities.

 

 

 

Just to give you some peace of mind.

 

2022 2nd Round drafted players who have played very well,

Breece Hall, Ken Walker III, George Pickens and Terry McBride.  

None of these guys have extensions yet and I am positive none of their agents are advising them to "sit out" games this season.

 

I'm not saying James Cook will not sit out games, I just find it very unlikely.

 

[TheBeaneBandit]

11 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

if anyone is willing to give us a 2nd above pick 50….even if we have to include a 4th next year or something….I’d strongly consider that

 

4 picks in the top 62 

 

grab 2 DL, a WR and  CB/S 

 

Strongly agree.

[YoloinOhio]

1 hour ago, Einstein's Dog said:

Yes, Cook not playing for multiple games is a real fear to me.  

 

If, as some people have said, Cook could get around $12M/yr right now in FA (with say $15-$20M guaranteed) playing in 2025 for $5M seems risky.  If you are not increasing that projected salary, because you are plateauing at your 2024 stats (which would seem to be the predicted), the monetary reasons behind playing really weaken (you get the weekly amount of the $5M salary but put at risk the big $15-$20M guarantee payday).

 

Unfortunately, if I were Cook's agent, and I determined the market to be what was discussed above, I would be advising him not to play most of 2025 at $5M (hold out thru week 11).    I would be recommending that Cook forgo the $5M to take the anticipated guaranteed $15M in 2026.  $10M should be a life changing amount.

 

It could be a bad situation and I think the FO is looking at trade opportunities.

 

 

He already doesn’t play on 3rd downs so he’s 1/4 of the way there on the holdout 

[FireChans]

11 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

if anyone is willing to give us a 2nd above pick 50….even if we have to include a 4th next year or something….I’d strongly consider that

 

4 picks in the top 62 

 

grab 2 DL, a WR and  CB/S 

 

No one is giving you that.

[BillsFanForever19]

15 hours ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

if anyone is willing to give us a 2nd above pick 50….even if we have to include a 4th next year or something….I’d strongly consider that

 

4 picks in the top 62 

 

grab 2 DL, a WR and  CB/S 

 

 

No one is offering us a 2nd Round Pick, even with a 4th next year, for Cook.

 

There's far too many things working against a Cook trade to get anything worth moving him. The RB position always get terrible returns on trades. Players in the last year of their contract always get less in return. Players who are publicly angling for top market dollar for their worth get less in return. And on top of all of that, it's a strong RB class in the Draft. 

 

In the end, whatever we'd get for him is worth less than having him playing for us in the Playoffs this year. Especially if he performs for us like he did this past season in the playoffs. I'm sure he'll hold out offseason workouts. Maybe Training Camp. But I don't see him missing any significant playing time. Even if he were to miss a couple games, the return won't be worth not having him when it matters.

[DeepPass]

4 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

No one is offering us a 2nd Round Pick, even with a 4th next year, for Cook.

 

There's far too many things working against a Cook trade to get anything worth moving him. The RB position always get terrible returns on trades. Players in the last year of their contract always get less in return. Players who are publicly angling for top market dollar for their worth get less in return. And on top of all of that, it's a strong RB class in the Draft. 

 

In the end, whatever we'd get for him is worth less than having him playing for us in the Playoffs this year. Especially if he performs for us like he did this past season in the playoffs. I'm sure he'll hold out offseason workouts. Maybe Training Camp. But I don't see him missing any significant playing time. Even if he were to miss a couple games, the return won't be worth not having him when it matters.

"Miss a couple of games" won't fly in the Bills organization. 

[BillsFanForever19]

2 hours ago, DeepPass said:

"Miss a couple of games" won't fly in the Bills organization. 

 

I don't know that it will even come to that. It represents the worst case scenario to me. He's going to have a hard time getting 15m from another team if it isn't us. And missing any significant time is going to make that even harder.

 

As for it "won't fly" - that always cracks me up when I hear people say that. How do you know how they'd handle that? Just because you wouldn't want it to "fly" doesn't mean it wont. If the return isn't worth a trade (and it won't be) and the option then is to deal with it and/or sit him when he comes back - why would they do that and cut off their nose to spite their face?

Edited yesterday at 03:39 AM by BillsFanForever19