PITTSFORD – James Cook didn’t notify his bosses until shortly before practice began Sunday that the two-time Pro Bowl running back wasn’t going to be on the field with the Buffalo Bills.
Day Nine of Buffalo Bills Training Camp (copy)
Bills running back James Cook, center, rides a stationary bicycle Sunday during training camp in Pittsford. Cook, who tied for the league lead with 16 rushing touchdowns last season, wants a raise. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Some of his teammates found out while stretching at St. John Fisher, as Cook walked by wearing an all-white track suit. After participating in eight days of training camp, he sat out consecutive practices this week to try to gain leverage in contract negotiations with the Bills.
No one should fault Cook for wanting a raise. His $5.701 million cap hit in 2025, the last season of his rookie contract, ranks 18th among NFL running backs, and he turns 26 next month. The next contract he signs will likely be the most lucrative in his career, and he’d prefer to protect himself from an injury that could prevent him from obtaining life-changing money.
The timing of this is terrible for the Bills, though. They had 11 injured players miss practice Monday. Several others were limited participants, and two others went down during the two-hour session. There were so many absences earlier in camp that Bills coach Sean McDermott had to restructure his plans. They can’t continue to eliminate drills because of personnel, though, as the first preseason game is Saturday at Highmark Stadium against the New York Giants.
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Ray Davis and Ty Johnson are capable of taking snaps at running back with the starters, but the offense needs Cook in the backfield as often as possible before Week 1.
Cook knows the playbook. This is Joe Brady’s second full season as the Bills’ offensive coordinator, but they use training camp to experiment with personnel packages and scheme adjustments, gradually whittling an encyclopedia of options into the offense you’ll see in the fall. It’s easier to evaluate what works and what doesn’t when your starting running back is available. Cook’s skill set is different than that of Davis and Johnson.
“You know, love James and, at the end of the day, we want all our guys practicing,” general manager Brandon Beane said Monday morning on WGR-AM. “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. ... Hopefully get him back out there soon.”
While Cook was absent at voluntary spring workouts, teammates offered a full-throated endorsement for his efforts to get paid. To his credit, he arrived at mandatory minicamp in top shape. Through eight camp practices, he knifed through the defense and looked like he was ready to build on his consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
With James Cook on the sidelines, rep counts – and opportunity – increase for Ray Davis, Ty Johnson
It’s hard to imagine Cook’s standoff with the Bills drags into the regular season, since missing games would take money out of his pocket. But if it did, Davis and Johnson would be counted on to carry the load.
Cook’s 166 rushing yards over expected in 2024 was the 10th-best mark in the NFL, according to Next Gen Stats, and his 16 rushing touchdowns tied for the league lead.
Starting a hold-in nearly two weeks into training camp put the Bills in a precarious position, though, and two of the team’s prominent leaders minced words when they were asked by The Buffalo News for their reaction to Cook’s latest negotiating tactic.
“I don’t have any comment there,” tight end Dawson Knox said. “I just know that we’re going to try to keep putting good days together and keep building this chemistry that’s going to be build a good team. That’s just a day-by-day process.”
Linebacker Terrel Bernard, the Bills’ defensive captain last season: “I mean, that’s his decision. I don’t want to get into all of that. At the end of the day, he’s here. It is what it is. It’s the business off the field. So, wish it didn’t come to that, but it is what it is at this point.”
Don’t worry about how this will play out on “Hard Knocks,” the HBO docuseries. NFL Films’ cameras have followed the Bills since training camp began, capturing the sights and sounds of a Super Bowl contender. But teams get to screen each episode before it airs, so in theory, they can choose to exclude something as private as contract negotiations or how players react behind the scenes to Cook’s decision.
The bigger issue is how this impacts the Bills’ ability to prepare for the season. They don’t host the Baltimore Ravens until Sept. 7, so there’s time for this to get resolved. And, unlike the contentious holdouts in places like Dallas and Cincinnati, Beane is proactive. He doesn’t wait until the last minute to approach players. Everyone on the roster knows they’ll be paid in Buffalo if they earn the money.
Beane has handled this with the tact of an experienced general manager. He could have taken a page out of the Jerry Jones playbook by citing Cook’s usage – just 48% of the Bills’ offensive snaps in 2024 – during press conferences or interviews as the reason why there’s still a gap to bridge. Instead, Beane has repeatedly stated his desire to keep Cook, and the two sides have continued talking.
A contender that’s paying big money to a franchise quarterback, two offensive tackles, a No. 1 receiver, an edge rusher, a defensive tackle, a shutdown cornerback and one of the best nickel corners in the league cannot afford to pay everyone. Beane can’t look at his cap situation for one year. He must also consider whom the Bills must pay in future seasons.
Barring an injury, Cook knows he’s going to get paid. His preference is to remain in Buffalo with an MVP quarterback and an elite offensive line, but he made it clear at the start of training camp that he’s going to earn what he deems he’s worth, whether that’s here or elsewhere.
The hold-in isn’t the product of contract talks breaking down, or a fracture in the relationship. Beane wants Cook to remain in Buffalo. Cook wants to use this as a way to get negotiations over the finish line, while protecting himself from an injury in practice.
Though a long-term agreement may not be possible here, given Cook’s desire to be among the league’s highest-paid running backs – especially in the wake of the Rams giving Kyren Williams $23 million guaranteed and $11 million per season for three years – there’s pressure on the Bills to hammer out an agreement that ensures their leading rusher is on the field, feeling valued.
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