DrDawkinstein

There's so much fan reaction to this situation that I just dont get. Besides the manufactured outrage over the innocuous social media posts, this idea that somehow a short-term $15M/yr avg contract will somehow cripple the team and put us in cap hell just doesnt add up. Especially when any of us amateurs can structure a reasonable and team-safe deal with minimal effort. I understand Beane's measured approach and pinching pennies on early extensions where he is gifting guys a good, guaranteed payday before their rookie deal ends. But that approach also (should) provide the wiggle room to go closer to market value if/when needed. That's why I think a deal will get done, but closer to Cook hitting FA. No point in negotiating with market value numbers now when Beane is only negotiating against himself. But we can (and hopefully will) bump up the offer when Cook earns it with another year of top production. I just hope by then it isnt too late because if he does produce, his number only goes up.

Glad you brought up guaranteed money. It really is the only/most important thing. So 4/$60M with $40M guaranteed means we could easily get out of it after 2 or 3 years without much of a hit. Very little dead cap risk. So what's everyone worried about? And yes, if he continues to play like last season, he is worth $13-15M/yr.

But that is the way people look at it, and the way to calculate the contract/player value. Right now, Cook is on a 1yr/$5M contract. If we extend him, that means we keep that 1/$5M and add to it. And it changes the length and average value. And lets be clear, average value is what everyone is caught up on. And average value is the unreal optics. I've seen it said Henry signed for "$8M/yr" because his contract was 2/$16M. But he's never made $8M. He made $4M last year, and this year he's set to make over $12M. So you're really helping us prove that "average value" is meaningless, and folks shouldnt get caught up on "$15M/yr" because there wont be a year he ever earns $15M. It will be some smaller figures up front, some larger number at the end, and probably a void year to mitigate it. If we're all being real, and knowing all the cap magic and tricks GMs have at their disposal, NO ONE should be getting so caught up on Cook's $15M/yr request.

Yes, I agree. At 31 yrs old.

I dont fully disagree, I'm not against using the tag on Cook if it gets to that point. But I think the logic is there is a good chance the price continues to go up on what would be an integral part of our Offense. I think Beane agrees it's better to get deals done sooner rather than later. It's why they were even in talks in the first place. I dont think there is a ton of stressful urgency from the pro-Cook camp, rather a "just get it done so it goes away" thing, which I think most of us already feel in ways on either side. 👍

I trust Beane over any of us and our message board logic. Even my own. And there are plenty of fast guys over 27 in the league. Is anyone worried that Lamar will not be able to run well this year? He's 28 going on 29. Has Tyreek Hill not been a threat the last few years? Even with all his dings and injuries. Derrick Henry is 31, takes a lot of contact, and can still take it to the house and outrun the defense. Speed doesnt always disappear. And a lot of athletes will tell you 27 is just entering their physical prime.

Was it last year or the year before that the Dolphins wore those dumb tshirts with the 🤔 emoji, and Josh not only spanked them as usual, but hit that same pose after his TDs. He hears and sees this stuff and uses it no matter how innocent and respectful it seems. He is the #1 trash talker in the league, and he will use whatever they give him to fuel his game.

Might have the same genetics, but dont have the same careers. Through Dalvin's best (younger) years he had: 250 carries 312 carries 249 carries 264 carries As he approached his drop off. For what it's worth, Thurman also had seasons of 288, 315, and 355 carries as he hit his drop off. So far, James peaked last year at 237 carries and only 207 carries last season. He also is able to run away from contact more than his brother. Lot less wear and tear so far. It's why being a "2-down back" is a good thing. 😎 Just sayin.

We'll see. Beane knows what Cook is after and has already mentioned a few times that they can still get a deal done during the season/before next offseason. I have some previous posts where I stated being against using the Tag because it usually makes the relationship even worse. However, in the meantime, someone somewhere made a good point that changed my perspective a bit and especially in this case. That point being, for a talent like Cook who ended up being a 2nd rounder, the tag can be used to essentially recreate the "5th year option" we would have got by picking him in the 1st. If it can be leveraged that way, and as long as it doesnt completely burn the bridge, then I'm on board tagging him in a worst case scenario. Of course, the funniest part there is the RB tag number will be around $14M+, so we might as well just get him on a real deal.

Says you building your team.

McD was wrong. Again. That doesnt reflect well on McD.

Josh is very supportive and a bit hyperbolic in his praise of his team mates. And Johnson is likely our best 3rd down back. But it doesnt matter when Cook keeps us out of 3rd downs. Another botch-job by the coaches. Sounds like they should have used Cook so Josh didnt break his hand. Doesnt matter.

Here are our last 3 drives. It's clear the coaches had our best player on the bench. It's also clear it doesnt matter that Cook is a "2-down back" since when he does get the ball on early downs, we never get to 3rd down... Drive 1: Good comparison for everyone who still talks about Cook's old fumbles and drops and thinks Davis is going to step right in to replace him... Drive 2. Another good comparison for everyone who thinks Johnson is such a better 3rd down/receiving threat. Drive 3. Last drive of the game, Bills get the ball with 4minutes left. Coaches panic and meltdown in KC, AGAIN. Forcing passing plays when the run game was working. And we just needed a FG to stay in it.

I've mentioned it numerous times in this thread and others. That is strictly on the coaches making yet another bad decision in KC. Why wasnt Cook on the field? You think he held himself out? Cook was their best personnel. He had the best game out of anyone on Offense. Him not being out there was a clear mistake made by coaches. He should have been out there in crunch time. Take it up with McD. Or better yet, pay him so it forces McD out of making these same dumb mistakes. Spotrac market value is like Zillow market value for homes, and they clearly state they have a +/- of 30% (which is a huge swing!).

I mean, we all pay for it one way or another. At least this is more transparent and direct.

This entire 2-down/3-down back argument is the fanbase grasping at straws to try to devalue him after being offended by some innocuous posts on social media Doesnt make any sense for anyone who has watched him play, saw his performance last year, and still wants to comment on what he brings. Like I pointed out up-thread, he was still the most productive/used player outside of Josh. No one else comes close to his number of touches. Regardless of what downs they came on.

Yall talk like Cook went on some rant and aggressively attacked the team and called out Beane, or publicly asked for a trade, or called out he was denied a meeting with the owner... He posted a COMMENT deep, deep on someone else's post that was already talking about players getting paid of simply "15 mil year". That's it! Not even 3 full words! After that, he posted 3 emoji reactions to the news of Barkley's new contract. That's it. He also posted "Love you Buffalo" (sincerely) Most recently he posted a pic of him and Josh together. Petulant child?

Wonder how much dead money Bill is on the hook for...

I think theres a bit of correlation=/= causation here. All your points dont add up to an indictment of the RB position as much as they are knocks on individual situations or team problems. Mixon is old, Cook is not. Taylor is often injured because Indy has nothing else on offense, and no QB (let alone the league MVP). Pittsburgh is a team in flux who looks to be actively setting up their first tank ever. All of them had far more on their shoulders and took a much larger brunt of carrying the offense and being ran into the ground. The argument posters make about Cook only getting 50% of the snaps is a feature of our Offense and Team, not a bug/issue. It will only serve to keep him fresh and running longer. And even at 50% of snaps, he is the largest piece of our Offense outside of Josh. Cook had 207 rushing attempts 32 receptions last year. He got the ball 239 times. The next most utilized player is Shakir with 76 receptions. Not even 1/3rd of Cooks touches.

Well that escalated quickly...

Henry's contract is an anomaly that yall need to get over. It isnt a market value contract. He is in his 30s. Additionally, his cap hit this year is $13M, so already much closer to what we're talking about for Cook. And the Ravens are now the top spenders at the RB position in the entire league. Just like no one is asking Cook to be paid like Barkley who is above $20M/yr. But Cook is arguably better than Jonathan Taylor who is making more than $15M this year.

What a crazy thing to argue when the players are telling you themselves. Who cares if it is placebo or not. It still gets the job done. And there is no way you can watch all the film of Josh attacking Ramsey and say there was nothing there. It was on a different level than anyone else he has played against. It was targeted, it was aggressive, it was filthy, and it was glorious.

Even more to your point, literally $25M per year now that streaming is involved.

If yall dont think Josh will be planning something special for this kid, then yall dont know Josh or these high-level competitors. They use literally anything. Often times even manufacturing grievances in their own head to fuel the fire. Watch any documentary/30for30, you'll hear about it often.

The one thing you are wrong about. Pobodies nerfect I guess