Mini-Camp: A James Cook Barometer

[SoonerBillsFan]

Just now, Richard Noggin said:

 

The Bills are better with James Cook as part of the team, without question. He might not be worth $20M AAV, but he's worth what he's getting paid in 2025 for sure. So hopefully he does the smart thing and reports for camp eventually. Having another great season would get him closer to his dream of a massive payday. Simple math. Sucks that Hard Knocks has this pre-loaded contract drama to harp on relentlessly. 

Are you sure?  I want to see Davis for a full season. 

[Richard Noggin]

1 minute ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

Are you sure?  I want to see Davis for a full season. 

 

I agree with the sentiment. Just wait for 2026. He'll get more snaps this year, provided he shows growth. And then in 2026 he'll be the returning workhouse sharing reps with a rookie and Johnson, most likely. 

 

The Bills are 100% better in 2025 with Cook as part of the team. You're not questioning that, are you?

[SoonerBillsFan]

7 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

I agree with the sentiment. Just wait for 2026. He'll get more snaps this year, provided he shows growth. And then in 2026 he'll be the returning workhouse sharing reps with a rookie and Johnson, most likely. 

 

The Bills are 100% better in 2025 with Cook as part of the team. You're not questioning that, are you?

Yes, yes I am.  Plays maybe 50 % of the snaps, liability in pass blocking, isn't the best 3rs down back on the team.  Needed 17 games to hit 1000 yards and only had 4 rushing TD's in his previous 2 seasons total.

 

Yeah I get he had some flashy TD runs, yes I get we took rushing TD's from Allen near the goal line and gave to cook, because of Josh's hand injury, that gave cook 16 TD's,BUT...he is already an un needed distraction. 

 

I still feel this guy doesnt want to be in Buffalo. Now I get some fans think that blasphemous, but this jerk is doing exactly what he knew would piss Beane off.  He knew he wasn't going to get 15, let alone 20, Million out of the Bills. Every move this offseason are moves he KNEW would piss off the fan base and NOT be in his beat interest to get paid.

 

If he didn't then he is too damn stupid to be on this team, but he's not.  I feel he wants out, but now his own dumb butt moves has made it famn tough to trade him and Beane isn't going to let him just walk this year. 

 

His best move is to STHU, not post on Social media, show up to OTA'S NOT answer any questions from the media and ball out.  

 

But he won't.  We have seen who he is and what he is about amd NO this team isn't better off with a mal content in the locker room. Not being as close as we are to getting to a superbowl.

[BillsFanForever19]

58 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

Yes, yes I am.  Plays maybe 50 % of the snaps, liability in pass blocking, isn't the best 3rs down back on the team.  Needed 17 games to hit 1000 yards and only had 4 rushing TD's in his previous 2 seasons total.

 

Yeah I get he had some flashy TD runs, yes I get we took rushing TD's from Allen near the goal line and gave to cook, because of Josh's hand injury, that gave cook 16 TD's,BUT...he is already an un needed distraction. 

 

I still feel this guy doesnt want to be in Buffalo. Now I get some fans think that blasphemous, but this jerk is doing exactly what he knew would piss Beane off.  He knew he wasn't going to get 15, let alone 20, Million out of the Bills. Every move this offseason are moves he KNEW would piss off the fan base and NOT be in his beat interest to get paid.

 

If he didn't then he is too damn stupid to be on this team, but he's not.  I feel he wants out, but now his own dumb butt moves has made it famn tough to trade him and Beane isn't going to let him just walk this year. 

 

His best move is to STHU, not post on Social media, show up to OTA'S NOT answer any questions from the media and ball out.  

 

But he won't.  We have seen who he is and what he is about amd NO this team isn't better off with a mal content in the locker room. Not being as close as we are to getting to a superbowl.

 

It's funny to me how you're always talking about not wanting to hear about it anymore - yet you're in every James Cook post losing your mind on a daily basis over him and it.

 

Like if it bothers you so much and you hate hearing about it, why do you go out of your way to completely immerse yourself in it? Why do you keep the discourse going? It's really not that big of a deal. It's not effecting the team like you think it is. It's certainly not effecting Beane. 

 

Your idea of kicking him to the curb now is a no benefit, all detriment situation. Your discrediting the value of him in our Offense last season and his potential value on the field this season is insane. And your overvaluation of an exclusively Ray Davis & Ty Johnson backfield is even more insane.

 

That would be a huge downgrade and it boggles my mind that you'd rather field a worse Offense this year out of principal or spite.

Edited yesterday at 03:59 AM by BillsFanForever19

[Taro Nimbus]

I’ve seen a few people on various sites saying the Bills should cut or trade Cook and bring in an often injured JK Dobbins.   Are people really that stupid?

[BillsFanForever19]

23 minutes ago, Taro Nimbus said:

I’ve seen a few people on various sites saying the Bills should cut or trade Cook and bring in an often injured JK Dobbins.   Are people really that stupid?

 

Yes.

[SoonerBillsFan]

9 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

It's funny to me how you're always talking about not wanting to hear about it anymore - yet you're in every James Cook post losing your mind on a daily basis over him and it.

 

Like if it bothers you so much and you hate hearing about it, why do you go out of your way to completely immerse yourself in it? Why do you keep the discourse going? It's really not that big of a deal. It's not effecting the team like you think it is. It's certainly not effecting Beane. 

 

Your idea of kicking him to the curb now is a no benefit, all detriment situation. Your discrediting the value of him in our Offense last season and his potential value on the field this season is insane. And your overvaluation of an exclusively Ray Davis & Ty Johnson backfield is even more insane.

 

That would be a huge downgrade and it boggles my mind that you'd rather field a worse Offense this year out of principal or spite.

Bye

9 hours ago, Taro Nimbus said:

I’ve seen a few people on various sites saying the Bills should cut or trade Cook and bring in an often injured JK Dobbins.   Are people really that stupid?

Dumb move, we have a guy that can start, he just needs the reps. There are other veteran backs out there we can bring in to be a backup. Our 3rd down back, and backup to Davis, is here on the roster.

[Rocky Landing]

10 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

The Bills are better with James Cook as part of the team, without question. He might not be worth $20M AAV, but he's worth what he's getting paid in 2025 for sure. So hopefully he does the smart thing and reports for camp eventually. Having another great season would get him closer to his dream of a massive payday. Simple math. Sucks that Hard Knocks has this pre-loaded contract drama to harp on relentlessly. 

I wouldn't worry about HK doing much with Cook. Great player, but he makes for pretty boring TV, frankly.

[Paul Costa]

The guy people are sleeping on who’s already on the roster is Darrynton Evans. He is more like Cook than anyone else on the roster. Cook is giving him a great opportunity to show if he is a viable option. 

[HappyDays]

This account usually has good info so I take this as a good sign.

[Steptide]

2 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

This account usually has good info so I take this as a good sign.

Assuming this is true, I love when sports reporters (schefter in this case) look stupid 

[EmotionallyUnstable]

30 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

This account usually has good info so I take this as a good sign.

This is his best bet imo.

 

show up, have a seat at the table, negotiate and get a pay raise a season early while your stock is highest it’ll be. 
 

Not showing up does nothing but create division. Even if he doesn’t participate, being there is a good negotiating tactic if he is serious about getting paid this summer 

Edited 7 hours ago by EmotionallyUnstable

[HappyDays]

1 minute ago, EmotionallyUnstable said:

This is his best bet imo.

 

show up, have a seat at the table, negotiate and get a pay raise a season early while your stock is highest it’ll be. 
 

Not showing up does nothing but create division. Even if he doesn’t participate, being there is a good negotiating tactic if he is serious about getting paid this summer 

 

I just don't think it makes sense for him to accumulate fines by missing mandatory minicamp, when it doesn't make it any more likely that we'll extend him. I expected him not to be there though so still a pleasant surprise. We'll see if he actually practices with the team, it could be a planned hold-in just to avoid the fines.

[BillsFanForever19]

58 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

This account usually has good info so I take this as a good sign.

 

Wow. It's almost as if people who were freaking out and convinced he was going to hold out regular season games were overreacting...

 

He also posted today that he's going to be holding Youth Football Camps in Buffalo and Rochester on 7/8 and 7/9. Which would be an odd thing to do in the backyard of the team you'd be holding out on.

Edited 6 hours ago by BillsFanForever19

[HappyDays]

10 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

Wow. It's almost as if people who were freaking out and convinced he was going to Hold Out regular season games were overreacting...

 

Yeah the new CBA makes that basically impossible. If he plays less than 7 games he doesn't even accrue a season towards free agency and he would lose a ton of money with no chance of getting it back. When Leveon Bell held out of the regular season it was a dumb move on his part but under that CBA and his contract at the time it at least made some kind of sense. With Cook it would make no sense.

 

Really his only option is show up in the best shape he can, don't accumulate any fines, then perform to the best of his ability in the regular season so he can cash in next offseason. Him being at mandatory minicamp tells me he understands that.

 

Edited 6 hours ago by HappyDays

[Walking Tall]

1 hour ago, Steptide said:

Assuming this is true, I love when sports reporters (schefter in this case) look stupid 

Schefter will come out and say the Bills have promised Cook fair negotiations in an attempt to come to an extension or promise they will not tag him next off-season.

 

See how that works? Make something up that sounds real and people will eat that information up.

Edited 6 hours ago by Walking Tall

[JerseyBills]

He'd be an absolute moron to hold out, A. he's a RB.

B. The Bills don't play around , they're an elite organization and won't be held hostage by a player, they'll make the right decision for the team

C. It kills his value, not only this year but with any future team, looking at him as a Me first player. 

Leveon Bell is the closest comp and his value was much larger, Cook isn’t even a consensus top 10 back

[Paup 1995MVP]

1 hour ago, JerseyBills said:

He'd be an absolute moron to hold out, A. he's a RB.

B. The Bills don't play around , they're an elite organization and won't be held hostage by a player, they'll make the right decision for the team

C. It kills his value, not only this year but with any future team, looking at him as a Me first player. 

Leveon Bell is the closest comp and his value was much larger, Cook isn’t even a consensus top 10 back

Very true.  The Bills hold all the cards here.  (I like your point B) I am sure they would like to sign him to a reasonable extension.  But if Cook wants huge RB money he will have to wait until his contract is up.  Its not like he had an all time season.  He had some nice numbers (including an inflated amount of TD's scored from inside the 5 yard line.)  He is scheduled to make 5 + mill this year.  Not chump change for a guy that plays only about half the teams offensive snaps. 

 

The offseason is so long, there is just not much to talk about.  Especially for a team that has been real good for a long time now.  So the Cook talk gets extra play.  And the ironic thing is that Cook seems like a real quiet guy. 

 

Are there any other noteworthy stories right now in the NFL?  I guess Aaron Rodgers to the Steelers.  LOL    

[Richard Noggin]

Fascinating that Cook's 2025 $5.3M salary (+$75k workout bonus) accounts for ~92% of his 4 year rookie contract's overall reported $5.8M value...

 

He's on track to have earned just shy of $10M when he becomes eligible for FA in 2026. Why is his deal reported the way it is (on Spotrac)? ONLY guaranteed $ being accounted for in published valuation? Even in recent news, his 4-yr deal is reported to be under $6M. What the heck?

 

 

[Aussie Joe]

28 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

Fascinating that Cook's 2025 $5.3M salary (+$75k workout bonus) accounts for ~92% of his 4 year rookie contract's overall reported $5.8M value...

 

He's on track to have earned just shy of $10M when he becomes eligible for FA in 2026. Why is his deal reported the way it is (on Spotrac)? ONLY guaranteed $ being accounted for in published valuation? Even in recent news, his 4-yr deal is reported to be under $6M. What the heck?

 

 

his original rookie contract was 4 yrs $6m…

Because he a pro bowler he gets a proven performance escalator payable in the final year of his deal

 

https://atozsports.com/nfl/buffalo-bills-news/bills-players-that-made-pro-bowl/