Question: When are the Buffalo Bills ever going make a decision on what to do with running back James Cook?
Answer: Maybe they already have.
Cook, the talented former second-round pick out of Georgia, led the league in rushing touchdowns last season, and has recorded over 1,000 yards rushing in back-to-back years.
He is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and Cook is looking for a new deal.
And on paper? He deserves such a thing.
How much?
He believes that his body of work allows him to ask for a large salary. ... and he's floated the idea of $15 million per year on a deal.
The Bills answer there is to shut down talks ... and Cook has counter-moved by opting to sit out OTAs ... a "voluntary'' holdout, if you will.
And now comes the speculation from the national media that we find to be less than responsible. From NFL reporter Gilberto Manzano ...
"Buffalo could always force Cook to play on the expiring contract with hopes of working out a deal after the season,'' he writes. "Or maybe they’re not close on financial numbers and decide to trade Cook before the 2025 season."
Well, yes and no.
Obviously, the Bills could stand pat here and assume that Cook eventually shows up for work - as he is under contract.
But "decide to trade Cook''? Now?
The logic escapes us.
Buffalo's offense, led by Josh Allen, is primed to make a Super Bowl bid. Cook in the backfield helps the Bills toward that all-important goal. Trading him gives Buffalo a future pick.
How does that help them toward that goal?
Furthermore, letting him walk as a free agent next spring will also produce a draft pick in the form of a compensatory selection ... quite possible at the same level (a third? a fourth?) that Buffalo would get now in a trade.
The trade suggestion here amounts to rumor-mongering; there is no evidence to suggest that is a real "path.'' Indeed, what is suggested here is a stupid path that doesn't add up.