Has Cook talked himself OFF the Bills for 2025

[JohnNord]

On 3/21/2025 at 10:53 PM, DeepPass said:

He's a very good running back,  He's a very good receiver.  He stated he should be on the field for all 3 downs.  Obviously, this goes against "everyone eats" philosophy. He wants somewhere between $8 to $15 mil per season.  That's Saquon Barkley or Derrick Henry type money.

 

Does he hold out?  Does he sign a lower contract to stay with the Bills?  Will he be traded with a draft pick allowing the Bills to move up substantially in the 2025 draft?

 

The Bills have a long history of very good running backs (Simpson & Thomas were GREAT RB's) even in the dark ages with Terry Miller, Greg Bell, Joe Cribbs and CJ Spiller.all playing a significant role for the Bills in rushing and receiving.  Do we really need to have one of the highest paid backs in the League?

 

Comments Please!   Go Bills!

 

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. 

 

So with nothing to lose, he throws out the $15M number social media.   He also took a page out of the Diggs playbook and enlisted his bro to chime in.  

 

All this reminds me of a friend or co-worker who talks a big game on text/email about something they are upset about but when you see them in real life they are way less combative.   That’s what I think happens with Cook.   Maybe he skips OTA’s but he’ll be fine once training camp starts. 

[HOUSE]

His brother has a gigantic and well lubricated mouth.

James is not the problem here..

[BuffaloBillyG]

53 minutes ago, GreenMtnBillsFan said:

Agreed, Cook has a great skill set and is a great player for us, but running a competitive football team means making concessions. RB's do deserve to be paid as they've been screwed over for years, but I just don't think Cook sees eye to eye with Bean on this and unfortunately we can't pay everybody. Torrence and McGovern are both OL pieces the team has to decide upon soon (and Torrence is gonna be $$$), and we still have Benford in extension conversation as well. There's a lot of good players that are extension eligible in the next 1-2 year still, and much like Tremaine, I think someone is going to end up walking for big money and that just is what it is. 

Edwards is due up as well. That's our entire IOL coming due.

 

IMO it's more sensible to lock them down as it's easier to find a new RB to run behind a solid IOL then it is to find an new G/C that can slide in.  Keeping the IOL the same helps Davis and whoever else stay productive. 

[JP51]

21 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

He doesn't want 12 mill per, that is what fans think he is worth. HE thinks he is worth 15 mill + per year and has said so.  I don't see him budging

Agreed. What I said was there was going to be a replacement to fill in the drop off... the question is ... is the drop off in production worth spending an extra 12mm to get it back... as opposed so seeing what a 3mm player (or 4 or whatever) does...  there will still be a cost for the body replacing him... I am just theorizing that Cook will cost 12mm more than that person.... the theory is likely that the production wont equate to the dollars and they wont sign him... I am fairly certain Beane is looking at it like this...  but we shall see... and I dont see him budging either, he got Dalvin in his head.. 

[GreenMtnBillsFan]

7 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Edwards is due up as well. That's our entire IOL coming due.

 

IMO it's more sensible to lock them down as it's easier to find a new RB to run behind a solid IOL then it is to find an new G/C that can slide in.  Keeping the IOL the same helps Davis and whoever else stay productive. 

That's right I forgot about Edwards too. I totally agree. Brady seems to love the RB rotation with each having slightly different but complimenting skillsets anyways.

You don't have to draft the next James Cook, Moreso just find a guy with similar traits that you like and let him develop behind the strong O-Line. 

[Hsker4life]

I’m not a fan of paying RBs big money. I love Cook, but under no circumstances do I want Buffalo giving him 15 per year.

[colin]

as mentioned in this thread, if they re up one or two IOL, or put a decent (say top 4 rounds) pick into the line, they are stamping their intent of throwing cheap bodies at RB, and putting money/picks into the OL.  i think we offer cook a contract, and if he doesn't just take it he's a free agent next season.

[SoonerBillsFan]

24 minutes ago, JP51 said:

Agreed. What I said was there was going to be a replacement to fill in the drop off... the question is ... is the drop off in production worth spending an extra 12mm to get it back... as opposed so seeing what a 3mm player (or 4 or whatever) does...  there will still be a cost for the body replacing him... I am just theorizing that Cook will cost 12mm more than that person.... the theory is likely that the production wont equate to the dollars and they wont sign him... I am fairly certain Beane is looking at it like this...  but we shall see... and I dont see him budging either, he got Dalvin in his head.. 

I still can't get the look he had when we drafted him out of my head.  He was at home and when the camera showed him he looked pissed or at least disappointed we were the ones drafting him.

[JP51]

10 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

I still can't get the look he had when we drafted him out of my head.  He was at home and when the camera showed him he looked pissed or at least disappointed we were the ones drafting him.

I honestly never got a great feeling from him about being a Bill... I got the same vibe from Douglas and to an extent Cooper... Maghee was another one... 

[papazoid]

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

 

 

[boater]

There will be no holdout, Cook wants to be seen by future suitors as a team player. 

 

He will play his nuts off and do great things this season because it's a contract year.

 

When the 2025 season is over, some team will offer Cook $13 million/yr. and away he goes. At least we got a few good seasons out of him.

 

 

[bigK14094]

I remember the Jarius Byrd situation.  Didn't play for 6 games about, and then reported and was "hurt" the rest of the season.  This may be Cooks move.  then, there was the Jason Peters fiasco when the Bills did not enforce a valid contract because the player wanted out.   where I come from, some contracts overvalue, and some undervalue, and when they are signed ,you don't know who is getting the better deal...team or players.  Players always want an undo if they over perform the contract.

 

I would prefer to trade him before the draft, and pickup another rb in the late rounds on day three.  Davis and Johnson can handle the job quite well.

[DeepPass]

8 hours ago, JP51 said:

I honestly never got a great feeling from him about being a Bill... I got the same vibe from Douglas and to an extent Cooper... Maghee was another one... 

I remember that scene also.   He looked a bit 'sour' about coming to Buffalo.

[Mr. WEO]

18 hours ago, boater said:

There will be no holdout, Cook wants to be seen by future suitors as a team player. 

 

He will play his nuts off and do great things this season because it's a contract year.

 

When the 2025 season is over, some team will offer Cook $13 million/yr. and away he goes. At least we got a few good seasons out of him.

 

 

 

This seems right.  Bills have all the leverage.  He'll play.

 

NFL history is littered with RB's who stunk up the joint after a holdout. 

 

 

[ddaryl]

19 hours ago, boater said:

There will be no holdout, Cook wants to be seen by future suitors as a team player. 

 

He will play his nuts off and do great things this season because it's a contract year.

 

When the 2025 season is over, some team will offer Cook $13 million/yr. and away he goes. At least we got a few good seasons out of him.

 

 

And if his demands rise we will tag him in 2026. If we transition tag him we can trade him for a decent amount, or if someone decides to sign him we can match or take the 2 1st rd picks. We basically own Cook for 2 more years possibly 3. If he can bring his demands down to a more pallatable number he will get a rock solid extension with the Bills

[MiracleAtRich1393]

21 hours ago, bigK14094 said:

I remember the Jarius Byrd situation.  Didn't play for 6 games about, and then reported and was "hurt" the rest of the season.  This may be Cooks move.  then, there was the Jason Peters fiasco when the Bills did not enforce a valid contract because the player wanted out.   where I come from, some contracts overvalue, and some undervalue, and when they are signed ,you don't know who is getting the better deal...team or players.  Players always want an undo if they over perform the contract.

 

I would prefer to trade him before the draft, and pickup another rb in the late rounds on day three.  Davis and Johnson can handle the job quite well.

Teams ask for a re-work too, like Von last year and Milano this year for two recent examples

[boater]

21 hours ago, ddaryl said:

And if his demands rise we will tag him in 2026. If we transition tag him we can trade him for a decent amount, or if someone decides to sign him we can match or take the 2 1st rd picks. We basically own Cook for 2 more years possibly 3. If he can bring his demands down to a more pallatable number he will get a rock solid extension with the Bills

Transition tag... that is an intriguing option. Though some say it may not work (wikipedia):

 

• "The transition tag is rarely used by NFL franchises. There are two reasons for this. The first is that the one-year transition offer is typically a large amount, which could provide the club with difficulties while attempting to keep the team's aggregate salaries under the salary cap. The other is that players often react badly to receiving the tag, because it limits their ability to negotiate with other teams and therefore hinders their chances of receiving the largest possible contract. Players sometimes counter the tag by holding out or refusing to play for the club, creating distractions and headaches for the club."