Are the Bills and James Cook on the Verge of a Rocky Breakup?
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook was the first player this offseason to publicly push for a new, more lucrative contract—reportedly around $15 million per year. That figure would place him among the top-paid running backs in the league. Given his back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and 16-touchdown campaign in 2024, many believe his request is justified.
However, the Bills have shifted their focus to extending other key players such as Josh Allen, Greg Rousseau, Khalil Shakir, Terrel Bernard, and Christian Benford—leaving Cook without a new deal. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on The Pat McAfee Show, while he expects Cook to remain with Buffalo in 2025, he acknowledged that the relationship between the two sides “isn’t great.”
Fueling speculation further, Cook recently listed his Buffalo home for sale. While players often move, Rapoport noted that Cook likely anticipated the optics of this decision—and it has only intensified the narrative around his contract standoff.
It appears tensions are building, and the situation could be headed toward a contract dispute or even a holdout. Bills general manager Brandon Beane noted at the annual league meeting that just because Cook hasn’t received a new contract yet doesn’t mean it won’t happen down the line. Still, with Cook entering the final year of his rookie deal and the team working with limited cap space (about $5.2 million, per Over The Cap), a resolution seems unlikely this offseason.
Unless something changes, both Cook and the Bills are on a collision course toward a contract standoff—something fans in Buffalo are understandably concerned about.
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