For a minute there, it looked like the Buffalo Bills might end up starting their intended backup running back in games that matter this season. As starter James Cook executed a “hold-in” while at training camp, refusing to practice until his agent and general manager Brandon Beane agreed upon a new contract, there was plenty of attention turned to the team’s RB2.
While that young man — who is the same age as Cook even though they were drafted two years apart — played a role on the 2024 team as a rookie,
there were definite divides among people in the know as to whether they thought he could be “the man” in the offensive backfield rather than a part of something special. After Cook and the Bills agreed on a four-year extension, however, the conversations about who would start at running back for the Bills disappeared.
In today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss Buffalo’s second running back — a second-year man looking to build off a solid rookie season.
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Name: Ray Davis
Number: 22
Position: RB
Height/Weight: 5’8”, 220 pounds
Age: 25 (26 on 11/11/2025)
Experience/Draft: 2; selected by Buffalo in the fourth round (No. 128 overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft
College: Kentucky
Acquired: Fourth-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Davis enters the second year of his rookie deal, a four-year pact worth $4,733,188 overall. For the 2025 season, he carries a cap hit of $1,138,297 if he makes the 53-man roster. Buffalo will be responsible for a dead-cap charge equal to the remaining guarantees on the contract, which amounts to $534,891, if they release him.
2024 Recap: Davis had a solid rookie season, showing toughness around the goal line, good hands in the receiving game, and adequate burst in both facets at different times. He played in all of Buffalo’s games for the season, though he did not start any.
Even the game where he saw the most action, Buffalo’s Week 6 victory over the New York Jets, saw the Bills start Ty Johnson instead of an injured James Cook. All Davis did in that game, though, was carry 20 times for 97 yards and catch three passes for 55 more.
Davis had a few other big games — five carries for 41 yards and a touchdown in Week Seven against the Tennessee Titans, two catches for 70 yards and a score in Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins, 11 carries for 63 yards and a score in the snow against the San Francisco 49ers, and 15 carries for 64 yards in a meaningless regular-season finale against the New England Patriots, but he was otherwise slotted behind Buffalo’s top dog in Cook.
For the regular season, Davis carried 113 times for 442 yards and three touchdowns. He caught 17-of-19 targets for 189 yards and three more scores. In the regular season, he didn’t fumble. In the playoffs, he saw much more limited action, carrying just seven times for 36 yards and a score across three postseason games. He did fumble, though he recovered it himself, and he was not targeted in the passing game.
He was infrequently used as a kickoff returner, returning seven kicks for an average of 21 yards per return in the regular season and adding two returns for an average of 26.5 yards per return in the postseason. He played 24% of the regular-season snaps on offense. In the playoffs, Davis appeared on just 22 total offensive snaps, which amounted to right around 10% of the team’s total.
Positional outlook: Davis is one of four running backs on the current roster. James Cook, Ty Johnson, and Frank Gore Jr., are the others. On August 24, Buffalo released recently signed running back Elijah Young, who had been with the Kansas City Chiefs this summer after signing as an undrafted free agent
2025 Offseason: Davis is healthy and participating in all football activities. He’s had a poor preseason statistically, totaling just 12 yards on seven carries in exhibition games.
2025 Season outlook: Given that the Bills re-signed James Cook to a big contract extension earlier in August, there shouldn’t be any need to imagine what the offense will look like with Davis as a starter unless No. 4 is injured. In that case, we know what to expect, as Davis and Ty Johnson have already shown that they can provide a solid one-two punch in a pinch. Davis isn’t nearly as dynamic as Cook — most NFL running backs aren’t — but he is solid and dependable in all facets of the game.
Even though Davis’ listed weight is still 220 pounds, he said that he lost a little weight this season and is likely closer to 208 pounds this year. He did that to be less of the “thunder” in the backfield and to be more of a complete package as a runner, as he feels like the lost weight allowed him to find some extra burst.
What the Bills have in Davis is a good backup who can be a threat in all parts of the offense. That’s a great asset to have in a player slated to be a reserve.
