Buffalo Bills running back James Cook has taken a very active role in his quest for a new contract, a situation initially supported by his older brother Dalvin Cook. Though it’s just August 4, the drama surrounding Cook’s next pay day has aged like milk — the main event of it all having begun just a few short months ago.
Cook is unhappy right now, to say the least. He has every right to feel that way, whether you agree with it (and how he’s proceeding) or not. But Cook’s stance is especially validated
when you consider his production during the team’s 2024 season.
Cook was a revelation at running back for Buffalo, though one who saw just a 54.5% snap share. If you need a reminder about what he did with that time: 16 starts, 207 carries for 1,009 yards with 16 touchdowns; 32 receptions (38 targets) for 258 yards and two additional touchdowns.
If just considering Cook’s production, it’s easy to understand why he views himself among the best running backs in the NFL. But is he at the same level as Saquon Barkley? With all due respect to Cook, who decimated the league on a limited snap count — clearly, no. Certainly, 1,009 rushing yards isn’t fit for the record books, but when you consider the timeshare, and the presence of Josh Allen a finer appreciation should emerge for what Cook was able to accomplish.
He’s a stud who’s proven fully capable as a runner between the tackles, or when swinging it wide outside the hashes.
Yet the biggest eyesore to his contract campaign, James Cook has not been reliable in pass-blocking situations. That took, arguably, Buffalo’s second-best offensive player off the field in key moments of too many games. There can be no greater detractor to a contract hold-in than Cook butting it right up next to the Bills’ final playoff drive of 2024 — a moment in time when he wasn’t on the field, by design, and due to his pass-blocking deficiency.
But is it entirely fair to lay so much of that responsibility on Cook? Yes, considering his asking price, and it would seem that general manager Brandon Beane agrees.
In an appearance with WGR 550 AM on August 4 at training camp on the grounds of St. John Fisher University, Brandon Beane played the part of a straight shooter, laying it all out on the table when asked about Cook’s non-participation:
“Yeah, you know it’s not something we were fully aware of until shortly before practice. And so — you know, I get it. I understand it’s... the world we’re in, I guess, of how players want to respond to things like that. You know, love James, and you know at the end of the day, you know, we want all our guys practicing, we know that. We’ve got some guys out due to injuries or soft-tissue and stuff like that. So we’re trying to get as many guys on the practice field as we can, and start preparing for this first preseason game. And hopefully we’ll get him back out there soon, but, uh, yeah — it remains to be seen whether he’s gonna show today or not.”
He, as we know now, did not practice. for a second day in a row.
RB James Cook walking out to practice not in uniform for the second straight day pic.twitter.com/WdFTcXciBe
— Alaina Getzenberg (@agetzenberg) August 4, 2025
When asked by Jeremy White about the reported and continued open dialogue between Cook and the team —- where Tom Pelissero mentioned things aren’t believed to be “too far apart” on a contract offer, Beane offered the following:
“Yeah, I mean without getting into things, there’s been constant communication with his agent, either with myself or Kevin Megank — and with Jimbo. So, you know, at the end of the day I wish we weren’t here. This is my ninth season here. We’ve never had a player miss due to a contract or anything like that, so that’s disappointing for me. It’s not something we want, not something we’re looking forward to. But, at the end of the day it’s, like I said earlier, it’s kind of the — sometimes can be the way of the world, and so we’ll deal with it the best we can. Like I said, hopefully, you know I’d love to see Jimbo out there today. I don’t know that answer at this point this morning, whether that will happen or not. But if it’s not today... hopefully we get him back out there soon.”
White dug into the topic of paying running backs, and where Beane’s mindset is regarding placing any sort of a premium on the position:
“...(W)hatever it is, you’re always trying to find what you think is the sweet spot that makes sense for you and for the player. You know, and this offseason, you know, we found it with pretty much everyone we tried to get the deal done. He was the one, and that’s probably why we’re at where we are. We got a lot of the deals done that, you know, we tried, and it’s well known that we tried to get something done with Jimbo, and unfortunately, you know, it’s got — it takes two. And both sides have to agree on what that number is and obviously that hasn’t gotten there. But, you know, I’m not sitting here saying ‘you don’t pay running backs.’ I think you just have to find what the sweet spot is. And, you know, you’re paying Josh Allen, you’re paying, you know, two tackles premium, you know. We’re paying a lot of guys on this team. We paid Khalil Shakir. We brought in a Josh Palmer. We’re, like, you’re paying a lot of guys, so... you can’t pay everybody. And, you know, there’s other guys that want to be paid that haven’t been paid either. And, you know, that’s sometimes a decision. We’ve seen, you know, unfortunately, a Tremaine Edmunds have to leave; you know, a Gabe Davis — you name the player. You’d love to keep ‘em all, especially when you draft ‘em like those guys, and like James. You know, we’ve drafted him, we’ve developed him, and he’s done a great job developing himself. You would love nothing more than to keep him, but I gotta make sure it fits under the whole umbrella, not look at each deal in a silo.”
That all sounds a bit like a carefully worded way to say that the two sides have reached a stalemate. One side will likely need to concede if a new contract for Cook is to be had with One Bills Drive.
Though it’s beginning to reach (or far surpassed) the point of media exhaustion, this is a topic that’s not going to disappear until the conversations are over. How do you feel about Cook’s hold-in, apparent 180 after fully participating in mandatory minicamp and now showing up for training camp? Does Beane’s comment about being unable to pay everyone read as disingenuous if unwilling to consider how Cook fits into the team’s plans now and in the future?
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