Is Cook worth it?

[BeastMaster]

4 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I mean, check out my post at the top of this page as far as what it looks like when they go to the other RBs. The coaches moving away from Cook is more bad coaching (again) than anything to do with Cook.

 

Why would Etienne, a blue chip 1st round pick from a top program in his contract year, take less than Cook? They are literally in the same situation. Except Etienne can blame the Jags organization for his lack of production.

 

You're just right back where you were. This is Cook with extra steps.

 

Sign the guy you drafted and who has been in the locker room the last 3 years.

Etienne is looking at a three way timeshare on a losing team with a bad QB and is set to hit free agency 

 

If we can trade for him and let him ball out in a contract year we can let him walk, get a comp pick, and draft a similar player.

 

I'd like to keep our own guys just like you, but if he doesn't wanna play ball and take a fair offer, then you move off of him. The moves I mentioned might possibly work out better for Buffalo

[LEBills]

19 minutes ago, BeastMaster said:

Etienne is looking at a three way timeshare on a losing team with a bad QB and is set to hit free agency 

 

If we can trade for him and let him ball out in a contract year we can let him walk, get a comp pick, and draft a similar player.

 

I'd like to keep our own guys just like you, but if he doesn't wanna play ball and take a fair offer, then you move off of him. The moves I mentioned might possibly work out better for Buffalo

Etienne is toast. He is much worse than Cook. Just let Cook play out this year if we can’t get a contract done with him.

[RochesterLifer]

A "process" thought to factor into the Cook scenario. Beane and the Bills have a way of doing business. They extend (reward) the players they want to keep after the third year. It has been a successful method of retaining our own at both a fair price for the player and a cap-friendly price for the Bills. If Cook doesn't participate in this business model, it could encourage future young Bills to also not go along with it. Beane may not want to set this precedent. 

[Ya Digg?]

6 hours ago, BeastMaster said:

Etienne is looking at a three way timeshare on a losing team with a bad QB and is set to hit free agency 

 

If we can trade for him and let him ball out in a contract year we can let him walk, get a comp pick, and draft a similar player.

 

I'd like to keep our own guys just like you, but if he doesn't wanna play ball and take a fair offer, then you move off of him. The moves I mentioned might possibly work out better for Buffalo

The Bills will get more in a comp pick for Cook than they would for Etienne. You would be losing value AND paying more money 

[Thurman#1]

 

On 8/5/2025 at 10:21 AM, HamptonBillsfan said:

One more thing, the idea of punishing Cook because of pass protection when Josh was sacked 8 times is silly. You keep insisting on the fact you know what Cook is worth. He’s better each year and the Bills went to the AFC championship last season. Josh loves him and he represents a tremendous threat in the running game, giving Josh a great opportunity to dominate in  the passing game. .

 

 

 

He knows better than you what Cook is worth. The fact that the other salary estimators are closer to him points that out. As does the fact that offering him $15M would put him above Jonathan Taylor, Alvin Kamara and Josh Jacobs.

 

Yes, he's better each year. The estimates include that. And yes we went to the AFC championship next year but that has nothing to do with what Cook's salary should be. We went to the AFC championship because the team is damn good. We also went to the AFC championship in 2020 with Singletary at RB and that didn't mean Singletary was worth $15M per year.

 

Josh loves everybody on the team. He loved Beasley. Josh has had "a great opportunity to dominate in the passing game" for the last five years.

 

Know what's silly? Pretending that Josh being sacked eight times means that the RB sucking at pass pro is OK. Josh relaxing untouched in the pocket is better than Josh quickly running for his life, whether he's sacked or not.

 

More, maybe a significant part of the reason they have so few sacks is that they don't allow Cook on the field in situations when they think they'll need him to block.

 

 

Edited August 6 by Thurman#1

[Thurman#1]

On 8/5/2025 at 10:40 AM, PoundingDog said:

Listen to Beane. There is little conversation according to him.  It is interesting at around 2:35 mark where Beane went onto talking about agents he has dealt with (not asked by Brown). And he said he has never done a deal with Cook's agent and need to "feel out".  Then he went on to say "when you do a deal, it got be right for the player and right for the club." The underlying statement is obvious. 

 

I don't know where the story that the 2 sides are close came from. It sounds to me Beane is waiting for the Cook's side to move some before any further conversation. 

 

 

 

 

Tom Pelissero is the guy who said it was close.

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/nfl-insider-drops-bombshell-buffalo-202544391.html

 

But yeah, listening to Beane yesterday, it sure didn't sound like they were close or that there had been much progress.

 

[Thurman#1]

On 8/5/2025 at 10:28 AM, HamptonBillsfan said:

Thank you, when they sign him to 13 to 15 for three, just admit you didn’t accept what was right  in front of you. Just a partisan efficiency expert.

 

 

That's a grammar mistake. 

 

The word you want here is "IF," not "WHEN."

 

And if he does sign here for, say $13M next offseason, that would make a ton more sense than it would have made this offseason. A year from now they'll have had the benefit of having him for this year at his current salary, he'll be a four-year vet and the cap will be higher. All of those could tend to raise the price next off-season.

 

Whereas when a team signs a guy after three seasons, it is of great benefit to the player who gets to play the fourth year with much less worry about injury and how that might affect him.

 

The other third-year guys who the Bills signed this offseason all understood this and in return for the really significant bargaining chip of signing them early  gave the Bills a team-friendly deal. Cook did not even think of doing that. Which is his right, but it does have consequences.

 

Look at Benford. He's now the 19th highest paid CB by AAV. And he's a ton better than the 19th best CB. He's a better player than Cook, at a more important position. And he gave us a team-friendly deal.

 

Again, Cook did not do that. 

 

Nobody should be surprised that we didn't give Cook $15M or anywhere near it ... AFTER HIS THIRD YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

[GunnerBill]

18 hours ago, BeastMaster said:

Etienne is looking at a three way timeshare on a losing team with a bad QB and is set to hit free agency 

 

If we can trade for him and let him ball out in a contract year we can let him walk, get a comp pick, and draft a similar player.

 

I'd like to keep our own guys just like you, but if he doesn't wanna play ball and take a fair offer, then you move off of him. The moves I mentioned might possibly work out better for Buffalo

 

Yea I actually think if Cook does walk after this year Etienne as a FA reclamation project isn't the worst idea. I think he has the explosiveness, better top end speed and similar patience in terms of hitting the hole. On the downside, he doesn't have Cook's vision, has similar pass blocking limitations and the same tendency for concentration drops in the pass game. 

 

I also know, for a fact, Etienne was high on the Bills board in that 2021 draft. I believe, although don't know, that if both he and Groot were there they'd have taken Groot but in a world where Groot wasn't there and Etienne was he'd have been the pick. Taking James Cook who was like a less polished version of that skillset a year later in round 2 was not surprising. 

[buffaloaggie]

6 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea I actually think if Cook does walk after this year Etienne as a FA reclamation project isn't the worst idea. I think he has the explosiveness, better top end speed and similar patience in terms of hitting the hole. On the downside, he doesn't have Cook's vision, has similar pass blocking limitations and the same tendency for concentration drops in the pass game. 

 

I also know, for a fact, Etienne was high on the Bills board in that 2021 draft. I believe, although don't know, that if both he and Groot were there they'd have taken Groot but in a world where Groot wasn't there and Etienne was he'd have been the pick. Taking James Cook who was like a less polished version of that skillset a year later in round 2 was not surprising. 

Etienne's numbers have dropped quite a bit from his rookie year. You can blame it on injuries, but that's a big red flag to me. Bigsby has essentially beat him out in Jax, and I would question after three years that he doesn't have as much in the tank as he should. Feeling Bills will get Cook signed now that Kyren Williams has set a realistic number.

[GunnerBill]

Just now, buffaloaggie said:

Etienne's numbers have dropped quite a bit from his rookie year. You can blame it on injuries, but that's a big red flag to me. Bigsby has essentially beat him out in Jax, and I would question after three years that he doesn't have as much in the tank as he should. Feeling Bills will get Cook signed now that Kyren Williams has set a realistic number.

 

Oh he would be a reclamation project, no doubt. But there is enough stylistic similarity to make it worth a shot at the right price point if Cook is not back. 

[Dillenger4]

8 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

That's a grammar mistake. 

 

The word you want here is "IF," not "WHEN."

 

And if he does sign here for, say $13M next offseason, that would make a ton more sense than it would have made this offseason. A year from now they'll have had the benefit of having him for this year at his current salary, he'll be a four-year vet and the cap will be higher. All of those could tend to raise the price next off-season.

 

Whereas when a team signs a guy after three seasons, it is of great benefit to the player who gets to play the fourth year with much less worry about injury and how that might affect him.

 

The other third-year guys who the Bills signed this offseason all understood this and in return for the really significant bargaining chip of signing them early  gave the Bills a team-friendly deal. Cook did not even think of doing that. Which is his right, but it does have consequences.

 

Look at Benford. He's now the 19th highest paid CB by AAV. And he's a ton better than the 19th best CB. He's a better player than Cook, at a more important position. And he gave us a team-friendly deal.

 

Again, Cook did not do that. 

 

Nobody should be surprised that we didn't give Cook $15M or anywhere near it ... AFTER HIS THIRD YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow - i just can't believe some fans perception of James Cook on this team. To each their own applies here... but Benford better than Cook at his position? Or, even as a valued member of this team?? Not even close man... Cook is the real deal. he will get paid by beane potentially this week.

People comparing him to the deal the Rams gave out yesterday is also funny. Cook had VERY similar stats with half the touches. Unreal.

He is simply the second best player on this team behind Josh and it isn't close. Dawkins in there too... but Cook is a stud.

[HamptonBillsfan]

17 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

 

He knows better than you what Cook is worth. The fact that the other salary estimators are closer to him points that out. As does the fact that offering him $15M would put him above Jonathan Taylor, Alvin Kamara and Josh Jacobs.

 

Yes, he's better each year. The estimates include that. And yes we went to the AFC championship next year but that has nothing to do with what Cook's salary should be. We went to the AFC championship because the team is damn good. We also went to the AFC championship in 2020 with Singletary at RB and that didn't mean Singletary was worth $15M per year.

 

Josh loves everybody on the team. He loved Beasley. Josh has had "a great opportunity to dominate in the passing game" for the last five years.

 

Know what's silly? Pretending that Josh being sacked eight times means that the RB sucking at pass pro is OK. Josh relaxing untouched in the pocket is better than Josh quickly running for his life, whether he's sacked or not.

 

More, maybe a significant part of the reason they have so few sacks is that they don't allow Cook on the field in situations when they think they'll need him to block.

 

 

That’s it, accentuate every negative like blocking or carries and diminish his skills that make the team explosive and hard to defend. The reason I use the sacks stat is because we  run the ball 50% and without Cook that not happening. Teams can’t pressure Josh because they have protect against the threat of Cook ripping off a chunk play on 1st or 2nd down. The salary algorithm that Sportstrac uses is based on a flawed RB structure that’s changing all the time. Use the eyeball test without a negative bent you have for whatever reason.

[HamptonBillsfan]

12 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

That's a grammar mistake. 

 

The word you want here is "IF," not "WHEN."

 

And if he does sign here for, say $13M next offseason, that would make a ton more sense than it would have made this offseason. A year from now they'll have had the benefit of having him for this year at his current salary, he'll be a four-year vet and the cap will be higher. All of those could tend to raise the price next off-season.

 

Whereas when a team signs a guy after three seasons, it is of great benefit to the player who gets to play the fourth year with much less worry about injury and how that might affect him.

 

The other third-year guys who the Bills signed this offseason all understood this and in return for the really significant bargaining chip of signing them early  gave the Bills a team-friendly deal. Cook did not even think of doing that. Which is his right, but it does have consequences.

 

Look at Benford. He's now the 19th highest paid CB by AAV. And he's a ton better than the 19th best CB. He's a better player than Cook, at a more important position. And he gave us a team-friendly deal.

 

Again, Cook did not do that. 

 

Nobody should be surprised that we didn't give Cook $15M or anywhere near it ... AFTER HIS THIRD YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully you don’t take yourself too seriously because when you hand out these unequivocal determinations of who’s worth more  and who’s better than their contract, it sounds like you picture yourself as a financial guy arbitrating a team friendly contract. Try and understand that Benford is a concussion away from missing a season. Was he available when we needed him most?  Availability is a huge determinant of a player’s value. RBs have short careers in the NFL. If Cook plays out the final year of his contract and gets a blown ACL in the playoffs after having a great season, his bargaining position is zero and chances are the Bills let him walk. Capologists and payroll specialists like yourself, will say let’s roll with Davis and a 3rd round RB, and you’ll get on this board with your chest pumped up, boasting how you were a visionary for not wanting to sign him early. Cook sees Benford, Bernard , Rousseau get a 2nd contract along with Beane signing to defensive lineman, who will miss 6 games for PEDs. Do you blame him for wanting his money? 

[Joe Ferguson forever]

8 minutes ago, HamptonBillsfan said:

Availability is a huge determinant of a player’s value. RBs have short careers in the NFL. If Cook plays out the final year of his contract and gets a blown ACL in the playoffs after having a great season, his bargaining position is zero

This.  The average career of an NFL RB is the lowest of the positions: About 3 years.  He's 26 in Sept.  There are not many 30 yo RB's much less elite ones at that stage of their career.  Gotta imagine they factor all of this in when evaluating player value  It would seem "older" rb's would be a risky bet.

[HamptonBillsfan]

38 minutes ago, Joe Ferguson forever said:

This.  The average career of an NFL RB is the lowest of the positions: About 3 years.  He's 26 in Sept.  There are not many 30 yo RB's much less elite ones at that stage of their career.  Gotta imagine they factor all of this in when evaluating player value  It would seem "older" rb's would be a risky bet.

Thank you, I’ve been trying to make this point on Cook’s behalf with no success. If you’re being objective, he’s earned a solid 2nd contract. I’m thinking 42 for 3 with 36 guaranteed.

[dave mcbride]

A thought: the player most like Cook in recent years (in pretty much every way) is none other than his brother, who is four years older than him.  Both were second round picks, both went to Miami Central High, both ran 40 times in the 4.4s (James is a little faster), and they're roughly the same size. Like James, who just finished year 3, Dalvin had a breakout season in year 3 (AV of 15; 53 receptions for a 9.8 ypr [great for a RB]; 13 total TDs, and 1,135 rushing yards for 4.5 ypc). 

 

In his next three seasons Dalvin C had one truly elite season (year 4 -- 111.2 rushing yards per game and a 5.0 ypc rate), one good season, and one decent season. In that sixth year, he averaged 4.4 ypc (1,173 rushing yards), but that 4.4 ypc was bolstered by none other than his longest run ever: the 81-yard TD rush vs Buffalo right after Edmunds went off the field (he was having a great game) in one of the most brutal Bills losses of recent times. Take away that run, it's 3.8 ypc, and if you make it a 25 yard run because 81 yards is so spiky in the statistical sense, he averaged 3.87 ypc on the season. Still, it was a decent if not great season. The thing is, the Vikings wanted no part of him after that season, and he moved onto the Jets, where his production fell off a cliff.

 

If we assume he's a good comp, should the Bills pay James $33 million ($23-$25 million guaranteed) over 3 years for 88.4 rushing yards per game on average, 4.72 ypc, 45 receptions for 7.65 ypr, and 12 rushing and receiving TDs per season on average? Sure, you're buying some decline, but from my perspective that's OK if you get two upper-end years plus one decent enough season. 

 

Edited August 6 by dave mcbride

[hondo in seattle]

Based on my background, I have a weird way of looking at things.  After my stint in the army, I ended up the Director of Operations of a restaurant company with a couple of dozen locations.  One of those restaurants had a crappy parking lot so I spent some money fixing the potholes, laying down some new asphalt, sealing, and striping it.  The owner, peeved at the expense, calculated how many  tacos we'd have to sell to cover the cost of that repair.  Because margins in the restaurant industry are small, it was something like 60,000.  Annoyed, he asked, "Will we sell an additional 60,000 tacos because you fixed the parking lot?"

I agreed that we wouldn't.  But the parking lot wasn't the only thing we were taking care of.  I told him the combined effect of all our maintenance, cleaning, training, etc. will combine for far more than 100,000 additional taco sales.  It's a mindset that says the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  

 

That's how I see Cook.  He's not elite, but I don't want to lose him.  I wouldn't want to roll the dice on the next draft or Etienne or whatever.  I'd pay Cook based on how valuable he is to our offense, not necessarily on how he stacks up compared to other backs.  He's an important ingredient in our offensive recipe.  

[Joe Ferguson forever]

4 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

Based on my background, I have a weird way of looking at things.  After my stint in the army, I ended up the Director of Operations of a restaurant company with a couple of dozen locations.  One of those restaurants had a crappy parking lot so I spent some money fixing the potholes, laying down some new asphalt, sealing, and striping it.  The owner, peeved at the expense, calculated how many  tacos we'd have to sell to cover the cost of that repair.  Because margins in the restaurant industry are small, it was something like 60,000.  Annoyed, he asked, "Will we sell an additional 60,000 tacos because you fixed the parking lot?"

I agreed that we wouldn't.  But the parking lot wasn't the only thing we were taking care of.  I told him the combined effect of all our maintenance, cleaning, training, etc. will combine for far more than 100,000 additional taco sales.  It's a mindset that says the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  

 

That's how I see Cook.  He's not elite, but I don't want to lose him.  I wouldn't want to roll the dice on the next draft or Etienne or whatever.  I'd pay Cook based on how valuable he is to our offense, not necessarily on how he stacks up compared to other backs.  He's an important ingredient in our offensive recipe.  

Beautifully written story and analogy.  But what is the maximum number of tacos needed to justify the parking lot improvement?  That's what the beane counters are analyzing.  between 11mil and 15 mil is a lot of tacos.

[FLFan]

5 hours ago, dave mcbride said:

A thought: the player most like Cook in recent years (in pretty much every way) is none other than his brother, who is four years older than him.  Both were second round picks, both went to Miami Central High, both ran 40 times in the 4.4s (James is a little faster), and they're roughly the same size. Like James, who just finished year 3, Dalvin had a breakout season in year 3 (AV of 15; 53 receptions for a 9.8 ypr [great for a RB]; 13 total TDs, and 1,135 rushing yards for 4.5 ypc). 

 

In his next three seasons Dalvin C had one truly elite season (year 4 -- 111.2 rushing yards per game and a 5.0 ypc rate), one good season, and one decent season. In that sixth year, he averaged 4.4 ypc (1,173 rushing yards), but that 4.4 ypc was bolstered by none other than his longest run ever: the 81-yard TD rush vs Buffalo right after Edmunds went off the field (he was having a great game) in one of the most brutal Bills losses of recent times. Take away that run, it's 3.8 ypc, and if you make it a 25 yard run because 81 yards is so spiky in the statistical sense, he averaged 3.87 ypc on the season. Still, it was a decent if not great season. The thing is, the Vikings wanted no part of him after that season, and he moved onto the Jets, where his production fell off a cliff.

 

If we assume he's a good comp, should the Bills pay James $33 million ($23-$25 million guaranteed) over 3 years for 88.4 rushing yards per game on average, 4.72 ypc, 45 receptions for 7.65 ypr, and 12 rushing and receiving TDs per season on average? Sure, you're buying some decline, but from my perspective that's OK if you get two upper-end years plus one decent enough season. 

 

I think that is the issue. Personally I would bet on Cook’s production falling off the cliff in the next two to three years.  It may still be worth it to get what he has to offer over the next two years but his current trajectory is not likely to last beyond that. It may still be worth it but buyer beware. 

[Thurman#1]

13 hours ago, Dillenger4 said:

Wow - i just can't believe some fans perception of James Cook on this team. To each their own applies here... but Benford better than Cook at his position? Or, even as a valued member of this team?? Not even close man... Cook is the real deal. he will get paid by beane potentially this week.

People comparing him to the deal the Rams gave out yesterday is also funny. Cook had VERY similar stats with half the touches. Unreal.

He is simply the second best player on this team behind Josh and it isn't close. Dawkins in there too... but Cook is a stud.

 

 

Benford is not better than Cook at his position? Um, yeah, sure, whatever you say, dude. I mean, you're dead wrong of course, Benford is a top five guy at CB and there are twice as many starting CBs as there are RBs. He's absolutely better than Cook at his position, and CB is absolutely a more important position than RB.

 

As for Kyren Williams, he has put up 4.5 YPC, while Cook has put up 4.9. Cook is better, but not that much. And while part of that is because Cook is more explosive, another large part of it is that the Bills virtually never use Cook as a short-yardage hammer on the plays where making one or two yards I success, and Kyren Williams is the Rams smash-mouth guy. Cook isn't big enough or powerful enough for the role. And Kyren is.

 

The Bills know they've got to take Cook off the field in those situations. The Rams keep Williams out there and run him up the gut while the D knows what's almost certainly coming, and Williams gets the first down a lot more than he doesn't. That will lower your YPC while still making you a very valuable player.

 

And no, Cook isn't clearly the second-best player on this team. Benford, Milano, Taron Johnson are better for a start. Milano and Taron have been All-Pros, very recently. Dawkins, Spencer Brown are probables. It all goes up and down, of course, but pretending it's clear that he's #2 is ridiculous.

 

Cook's very good in many aspects, most specially his explosiveness. But he's got drawbacks as well, pass blocking, the inability to be used as a power back and that he's good but not great as a pass catcher, not to mention that he's a smaller guy who may well be best used less than genuine bell cow backs.

 

 

 

7 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

Based on my background, I have a weird way of looking at things.  After my stint in the army, I ended up the Director of Operations of a restaurant company with a couple of dozen locations.  One of those restaurants had a crappy parking lot so I spent some money fixing the potholes, laying down some new asphalt, sealing, and striping it.  The owner, peeved at the expense, calculated how many  tacos we'd have to sell to cover the cost of that repair.  Because margins in the restaurant industry are small, it was something like 60,000.  Annoyed, he asked, "Will we sell an additional 60,000 tacos because you fixed the parking lot?"

I agreed that we wouldn't.  But the parking lot wasn't the only thing we were taking care of.  I told him the combined effect of all our maintenance, cleaning, training, etc. will combine for far more than 100,000 additional taco sales.  It's a mindset that says the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  

 

That's how I see Cook.  He's not elite, but I don't want to lose him.  I wouldn't want to roll the dice on the next draft or Etienne or whatever.  I'd pay Cook based on how valuable he is to our offense, not necessarily on how he stacks up compared to other backs.  He's an important ingredient in our offensive recipe.  

 

 

I think this is great stuff. 

 

And I want Cook too. But while I would pay him, I wouldn't overpay him, and certainly I wouldn't after three, not four years.

Edited August 7 by Thurman#1