Rocky Landing

I figured that's why they signed Mack Hollins...

The Bills had $31M less to spend on talent last season. "Modest love" is probably a good description, but it'll be chillier than what Hollins receives.

It'll be interesting to see the reception he gets at Highmark, from both Bills' players, and fans.

I certainly wouldn't imagine they would just cut him.

It's odd to me that so many on here are talking about Davis potentially becoming Cook's replacement, when they are clearly such different players. Cook has far better acceleration, and speed, while still being able to bounce off a defender, and stay on his feet. Davis does have reliable hands, but his speed in the secondary would take a lot of plays off the table, IMO. He's a great #2, RB, with the kind of down-hill, bruising running style the Bills need, but I have a hard time envisioning him as a feature back. But here's the thing, if the Bills already have a replacement for Cook in mind, it's got to be the newly re-signed Ty Johnson, IMO. Cook made some great plays in the red zone last season, but so did Ty. Ty Johnson has consistently made absolutely eye-popping catches, and has shown incredible clutch efficiency, situational awareness, and proprioception, and he may even be a hair faster than Cook. He's put up highlight reel plays enough times to know it's not a fluke. He has the ability to help keep a play alive when it breaks down (an important skill for the Bills' offense). And perhaps equally important, he has trust, and chemistry with Josh Allen-- you can't overstate the importance of that. If tomorrow Brandon Beane said that they were moving on from James Cook, I'b be disappointed, but I wouldn't be worried about "who would replace his production," as another poster wondered. And, if in the next breath, Beane said that Ty Johnson would be the #1 for '25, my first thoughts would be, "... I can't wait to see that!"

Here’s a take sure to be flamed— Ty Johnson had an amazing season in ‘24, and consistently made eye-popping catches. Allen repeatedly called him “the best third down back in the league.” And they just re-signed him. How might that affect Cook’s value?

This raises valid questions: How much of Cook’s success can be attributed to working behind a stellar O-line? And how does that consideration affect the value McD/Beane place on the position?

His failure to show up in the big moment in the AFCCG might be his death knell. It doesn't really matter if he has great hands, if his head gets in the way. Beyond that, his YAC are not great, either.

I love that part of his story. I remember reading an article on him years back that revealed he barely had any furniture in his apartment, and kept his clothes on a rack that consisted of multiple sets of the same outfit, which IIRC, were gray jeans, and black shirts. And about a year after that, I recall a color commentator during a game making some comment about him "playing for a contract..." and I yelled at the screen, "you have no idea what you're talking about!" As a player, I don't believe he even keeps track of the score during a game. He plays every play in the moment, whether it's five minutes into the game, or five minutes from its resolution.

He's right up there with Fred-X and Kyle Williams.

Math, indeed. Not really sure where you came up with 33%. Of the five first-round, non-Allen picks Beane has made, three of them are still on the team. Two (Groot and Oliver) have signed contract extensions. Two (Edmunds, and Elam) are gone. Kincaid wouldn't really work into that study. He's not a player who "didn't re-up with their drafting team," as he's only been in the league two years. And of course, we didn't have a first round pick last year. Be that as it may, your original point that Beane's first round draft record supports the notion that Beane would be fired, were it not for Allen, is nonsense. Of Beane's five first round picks not named Allen, only one of them (Elam) could really be considered a bust. Edmunds left the Bills, and signed a $72M contract with the Bears. Although, I suppose if Beane hadn't drafted Allen, and instead gone for "Right Josh" Rosen, he might have been shown the door not long after. But, he didn't, did he?

You said "40% of Beane’s first round picks aren’t even on the team anymore," which (let me do some quick calculating here...) would mean that 60% are on the team. The article says that 43% is average. But, if you look at the article, the positions that they have targeted in the first round would have an even lower average than that. Math

Which isn't as bad as one might think. https://draftwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/draft/2024/04/25/first-round-draft-hit-rates-tracking-rates-from-the-best-centers-to-the-worst-wrs/73449048007/#:~:text=Just 21 of the 77,with 26 of 56 hitting.

Beane may not be an "elite GM" (whatever that means...), and McDermott may not be an elite HC (although, I see improvement every season), but I will say this: The two make an excellent team. That's not something every team in the NFL can boast. From the moment they arrived at OBD, they have consistently been on the same page, and that has paid dividends. (Who here remembers the contentious relationships between Nix/Whaley, and the revolving door of head coaches from the drought era?) Just taking last season as an example, The Bills' defense outperformed expectations with a roster built on-the-cheap with personnel that fit into a shared vision. You can't overstate the value in that.

A fan favorite. He'll be sorely missed.

I was a huge fan of Hollins, and I was happy when he was signed. I hate to see him go. In the end, he was exactly what I thought he would be in terms of his role, but he far exceeded expectations. A real clutch player, effective end zone guy, and down-field blocker. That being said, while he did exceed expectations, his use as a blocker may have proved redundant, and his main flaw-- his ability to gain separation-- was certainly real. We have a strong enough TE room that we don't need a WR to be played like one. Still... sad he won't be a Bill.

I know it's not an apples to apples comparison to Diggs. And I'm not suggesting he's some kind of locker room cancer. Perhaps "teammate" was the wrong word for me to use. I'm sure players advocate for themselves all the time, but at OBD, it's done behind closed doors. I honestly believe that's the way Beane/McD prefer it. But Cook, regardless of how flexible it may be, seems to have publicly drawn a line in the sand. One would expect that isn't out of the blue, but comes on the heels of conversations they've already had. And if Cook's "$15M" post was done without provocation, it's a bit of a blindside.

Why?

Perhaps not an apples to apples comparison, but Cook's actions are reminiscent of Diggs behavior, and they were willing to eat $30M+ to let Diggs go. Beane has a history of rewarding players who show themselves to be good teammates, along with being good players. Cook is engaging in behavior that I don't believe Beane, or McD will tolerate. It's a precedent that they have not allowed to be set, and as good as Cook is, I don't believe they're going to set it now.

Man, if when I was that age, we could have been arrested for putting a family member in a choke hold, we would have had a helluva lot of legal bills...

He's not elite, but he's a solid starter, and I think he still has plenty of potential to improve. And, I don't care how much he gets paid, I only care how it affects the cap. I like this move.

There are varying measures of what people consider a "successful season." One of those scales (the one held by the OP) holds that a successful season ends in a Super Bowl win-- period. Others might consider making it to the Super Bowl some measure of success. Miami Dolphins fans are currently talking about, maybe next season, making a "deep playoff run..." as a successful season. Jets fans would just like a return to relevancy. During the drought years, before Allen showed up, I used to joke on this site about how we would perennially win the offseason. Personally, I don't share @Hermes perspective. I'm not sure where I fit on the scale of what I would consider a "successful season," but I will say that I consider this last season-- one in which few pundits, and media analysts had us winning the division, much less getting one score away from the SB-- to be successful. I think any season where a team far exceeds expectations should be considered successful. This last season has made me especially optimistic for the next. And I certainly don't think there is one successful team, and 31 failures per year. That's a glass 31/32 empty. I can't live like that. I'm definitely a "glass half full" kinda guy (even if it is half full of sh!t...)

I think it’s a good idea.

Not Encino-- that's in the middle of the San Fernando Valley. He has a house in a gated community in Dana Point, which is South of Huntington Beach. If Josh Allen lived there year-round, he would not be playing football (unless he didn't mind driving about 3 1/2 hours every day).