MJS

Didn't we just do this?

He probably played for the NFL before.

Don't pay either of them. Time for Ray Davis to step up. I don't like paying running backs unless they are one of the handful of elite ones that you would really be foolish to let leave. James Cook isn't one of those guys. He is a tier below. The fact that there is a huge contingent of the fanbase that believes that PROVES he isn't one of those guys. Otherwise, we'd all be clamoring to keep him.

And the Bills refused to pay Davis as well. That's a good thing.

Yeah, I've been a little confused seeing Lofton so much. He didn't play here all that long, for one thing. Good player, but he was here at the tail end of his career to play a role.

Davis wasn't paid big money. Too much for what he was worth, but not some massive contract.

How did Gurley work out for them? He was out of the league after 2020 and a couple of lackluster years. That's the problem with paying running backs.

The bulk of his eccentricities surfaced after he left Pittsburgh.

I have Kelly over Allen as well. Kelly took us to 4 superbowls. It isn't a list of talent. Considering the overall Impact, I think Kelly did more. But I have no doubt that Allen will surpass him.

Yeah. They should probably be on there. I updated my list to include them because you are right.

Have they scheduled the amputation yet?

Funny. I was thinking about posting a thread about the top 10 Bills of all time. This is how I would probably rank it: 1) Bruce Smith (DE) 2) Jim Kelly (QB) 3) Thurman Thomas (RB) 4) Josh Allen (QB) 5) Andre Reed (WR) 6) OJ Simpson (RB) 7) Kent Hull (C) 8 ) Kyle Williams (DT) 9) Mike Stratton (LB) 10) Fred Smerlas (DT) 11) Cornelius Bennett (LB) 12) Billy Shaw (LG) 13) Eric Moulds (WR) 14) Joe DeLamielleure (RG) 15) Steve Tasker (WR) It is hard to rank Tasker, but I can see him as a top 15 Bills player. (Edited)

The gaurentee that they would never win one in my lifetime if I take the money is the real sticking point. I'd do it for $100k, probably, but I wouldn't love it. Closer to $200k and I wouldn't feel bad at all. At that point it would just be irresponsible not to take it.

The Bills have been to two AFC Championship games and have the most playoff wins since 2020 besides Kansas City. The Bengals, meanwhile, have only made the playoffs twice. They went far those two years, but they don't have a superbowl win either. They had a short window and that window appears to be closed, now, even with one of the best QB's in the NFL.

Rookies get paid so little now compared to what they used to. The only upside they have under the rookie wage scale is a gaurenteed 4 years of money.

The schedule is pretty easy to find elsewhere.

It's their award.

The votes need to all be public.

More like a 2nd or 3rd round pick.

It's the accumulation of injuries that really makes a difference. The record would be the same regardless of losing a single player (outside of Josh Allen, of course). But once you have 3, 4, 5 starters down, that starts to have ripple effects. I will say that the Houston game last year showed me how much they missed Shakir, but I think the offense evolved past that glaring weakness afterward. So, only Josh Allen makes sense to do this with. I think they would have won 7 or 8 games without him.

He hasn't ever gotten near that many carries in college or the pros, so I think the chance of that happening is slim. Plus, the Bills like Ty Johnson better than him as a 3rd down back.

That's good he showed up. But he still sent tweats and made his contract process a public thing. He didn't show up for OTA's. Some could look at that as not the right way to go about it. Ultimately, he saw the writing on the wall and showed up, though. That was smart of him. He has zero leverage.

Since NFL fans know who the starting RB is for one of the most prominent teams in the NFL, that makes him a superstar? Plus his brother was a good RB in the league. Cook is a good RB. He isn't a superstar. Ask NFL fans who they think the top superstar running backs in the NFL are, and he will not be mentioned. They'll mention Henry, Barkley, maybe Jacobs, and maybe McCaffrey. Perhaps a couple others. PFF ranks Cook 12th heading into the season. So, they clearly don't see him as a superstar. https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-running-back-rankings-top-32-ahead-of-2025-nfl-season

He is nothing close to a superstar. You are seriously overrating him.

He didn't pay huge money for a RB. He paid huge money for the RIGHT RB. Cook isn't even in the same category as him. I didn't say you never pay a RB. What did I say? You might need to read again.