Buffalo Bills RB James Cook is seeking his next contract with the Bills. He is expecting to be paid like the upper-tier RBs in the NFL. Currently, he is holding out for a new contract and is not present at voluntary workouts to gain leverage on negotiations to ink an extension.
Bills GM Brandon Beane isn’t yet ready to hand out a huge contract to Cook. Beane made his stance known on how he sees the situation with Cook and a potential extension.
Brandon Beane’s Stance on a James Cook Extension
The running back market hasn’t been in the best spot over the last few years, with teams being reluctant to hand out large contracts to running backs. This is still mostly true with a few exceptions, like Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey’s extensions. Beane is willing to bring Cook back for the foreseeable future, but wants to see one more year of production before handing out a large extension.
Extension talks haven’t gotten far, and Cook is not attending voluntary OTAs as a result. Beane wasn’t too concerned with Cook skipping these workouts because skipping these workouts isn’t a surprise, as players seeking extensions often use these workouts to try to move talks along and get the contract they feel they deserve.
“But James is working. I know he’s down there training in South Florida. He’s working. First of all, he’s competitive. And sure, everyone wants to get paid, and he knows he’s got to still show he’s James Cook — the guy we saw — if he wants to get that pay day. Either from us or someone else. That’s any player that doesn’t currently have their contract extensions yet,” said Beane on the Cook situation.
Beane is treating Cook as he would any other player. Players have to continue to prove that they are deserving of the contract that they are seeking. While Cook has been extremely productive, Beane is not going to make exceptions and wants to see Cook continue to improve and flourish before they fork over a large sum of money for Cook’s extension.
Cook has tallied 1,000+ yards rushing in the last two seasons and over 700 total receiving yards over the two seasons. In 2024, he added a huge scoring pedigree, going from six total touchdowns in 2023 to 16 rushing touchdowns alone last season. Cook has shown over the last two seasons his growth and the threat he poses to opposing defenses.
Cook is relying on his past two seasons to earn him the extension that he wants, while Beane wants Cook to continue to earn his potential extension. As of now, the extension doesn’t look to be happening anytime soon, and the running back will have to wait before securing his big contract.