It is not unfair of Buffalo Bills running back James Cook to debate about whether he is worth a new contract featuring $15 million APY.
It is unfair to pretend we have information on a potential holdout that flies in the face of what the involved parties have said.
With things not moving in the direction he hopes, having skipped the early portion of team workouts (they were voluntary anyway), all eyes are on mandatory mini-camp and training camp in the coming months to see if James will hold out.
That's fair for Bills Mafia to wonder about and to worry about.
But again, what about Cook's own words?
Cook recently made it clear that business is business, but also suggested he would be there for his teammates.
"However it works out, it works out," Cook said via PokerNews. "I mean, I just make sure the business is a business, and just do whatever I can to always be there for my teammates, and however it works out, it works out. And then we go play football."
Is that a promise to avoid a holdout? Maybe it's something short of it.
Is that a reason to report it as if it is destined to happen? It is not.
We won't link to the national outlet that is making it sound like they're advancing the ball on this conflict.
Again, we will stick with Bills star James Cook's own words, and with the words of GM Brandon Beane, who has repeatedly said things like, "James will be there when it counts.''
For now, Derrick Henry - who shocked some last year by joining the Baltimore Ravens and then producing the second-best season of his career with 1,921 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns - is on Cook's mind, and understandably so.
Henry on Monday signed an agreement on a two-year, $30 million extension that includes $25 million fully guaranteed over the next two seasons.
And yes ... Cook has taken notice, going on social media with a 1-word reflection.
"Congrats,'' Cook wrote on Henry.
Obviously, for Cook a new contract would be ideal - especially one that was Henry-like, at what appears to be that desired $15 mil per year. But pretending to know more than that? It's unfair to the player.