So how does this Cook's "hold-in" end gracefully (if there is no extension)?

[Delete_Delete_Delete]

28 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

If we are talking 10-13 million this needs to get done. If we are talking 14-15 million, you eat the million or two overspend for the greater good and get it done. If this is more than that it won’t get done. This isn’t that complicated of a contract. It’s crazy to me they can’t figure this out. Somebody has to be brutally stubborn here and I wouldn’t assume it’s Cook. Could be either. Will be interesting to learn what the numbers ended up being eventually. 

If they can’t come to terms, perhaps Cleveland or Dallas would give up valuable draft capital for the right to overpay a running back. I mean, if any teams would, and both are very much in need…

 

However I hope they keep him, even at a slight overpay, it’s not worth breaking this team up as it teeters on the precipice of greatness, simply to stand on the principles of “we’re not overpaying running backs”. Figure it out, kick the can down the road, win now.

Edited Monday at 03:47 AM by Delete_Delete_Delete

[JP51]

11 hours ago, 4merper4mer said:

Discussing playing on Friday and letting the coach know you wouldn’t play is FAR different than what you typed which is that Cook was “asked to go in the game”.  That makes it sound like McD said “Cook you’re in”  and Cook said “Nah, go ahead Ray”.  That is not what happened.

I would say that I agree here with you point for sure... if this happened in the game like cook is on the sidelines and coach says James go in there and run this... and cook said No! that would be really bad....  but that isnt what I am saying, I am saying if the coach told him he wanted him to play on tues weds thurs whatever and he told the coach no I am not gonna do that, this is him not living up to his contract... no more no less... 

 

the original post I was responding too said, something to the effect that he was living up to his contract ( I think cause he was present at camp) ...  my response was, well if they wanted him to play football in a game and he told them no... and he is under contract to play football... that to me is a breach... you can agree or disagree... but to me telling him he wants him to play in a game and him saying no is a breach whenever that intent was made known.... if you think different, all good we just dont agree... 

 

that said... am I upset he said no... honestly, not really, he has been refusing to participate for a while now in TC... maybe its because they are close to a deal and he doesnt want to get hurt... I get it... maybe they arent and he is digging in... that is certainly more concerning... but the bottom line is none of us REALLY know where he is at... so I am in the He gonna do his thing we will see how it works out for him... please just dont fracture the locker room as this thing goes on... to this point he hasnt... 

[TBBills Fan]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/bills-james-cook-need-to-get-deal-done-asafp

[SCBills]

16 minutes ago, TBBills Fan said:

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/bills-james-cook-need-to-get-deal-done-asafp

Id be shocked if they franchise tagged him. 
 

And I’m sorry, but this premise of saying the Bills just need to swallow whatever Cook wants and get it done is ridiculous.

 

Maybe the Bills are only offering like 8M per, and ok, if that’s the case I get it.  But with reports that the two sides are somewhat close, it sounds like we’re around the Kyren Williams deal, which is absolutely fair. 
 

If he wants more than that.. cool.. I don’t want to trade him for a pick that won’t help us this year, but if we could player for player trade him.. I’m all in on that right now. 
 

 

[MikePJ76]

Yea i am on the Pay cook train.  Not having a fully invested Cook for this season would be a huge blow.  

 

They paid shakir, they should pay Cook.  Cook is the more productive and better player.  If I was cook that would be my issue.  

 

 

Edited Monday at 02:48 PM by MikePJ76

[TBBills Fan]

6 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

Yea i am on the Pay cook train.  Not having a fully invested Cook for this season would be a huge blow.  

 

They paid shakir, they should pay Cook.  Cook is the more productive and better player.  If I was cook that would be my issue.  

 

 

Yeah I'm on the pay Cook train as well.

 

Just imagine what the offense looks like without him. 

 

It certainly is not breaking any records and could take a huge step backward 

[DrDawkinstein]

10 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Id be shocked if they franchise tagged him. 
 

And I’m sorry, but this premise of saying the Bills just need to swallow whatever Cook wants and get it done is ridiculous.

 

Maybe the Bills are only offering like 8M per, and ok, if that’s the case I get it.  But with reports that the two sides are somewhat close, it sounds like we’re around the Kyren Williams deal, which is absolutely fair. 
 

If he wants more than that.. cool.. I don’t want to trade him for a pick that won’t help us this year, but if we could player for player trade him.. I’m all in on that right now. 
 

 

 

But like you said, reports are that they are close, and it sounds like we're near the Williams deal... So it's about to be on Beane to step up and make it $11.5M or $12M or whatever slight difference there is and get it done. Doesnt sound from any report that Cook is holding strong at $15M.

 

Big Baller Beane needs to be Bridge Builder Beane if we're this close.

 

 

38 minutes ago, JP51 said:

I would say that I agree here with you point for sure... if this happened in the game like cook is on the sidelines and coach says James go in there and run this... and cook said No! that would be really bad....  but that isnt what I am saying, I am saying if the coach told him he wanted him to play on tues weds thurs whatever and he told the coach no I am not gonna do that, this is him not living up to his contract... no more no less... 

 

the original post I was responding too said, something to the effect that he was living up to his contract ( I think cause he was present at camp) ...  my response was, well if they wanted him to play football in a game and he told them no... and he is under contract to play football... that to me is a breach... you can agree or disagree... but to me telling him he wants him to play in a game and him saying no is a breach whenever that intent was made known.... if you think different, all good we just dont agree... 

 

that said... am I upset he said no... honestly, not really, he has been refusing to participate for a while now in TC... maybe its because they are close to a deal and he doesnt want to get hurt... I get it... maybe they arent and he is digging in... that is certainly more concerning... but the bottom line is none of us REALLY know where he is at... so I am in the He gonna do his thing we will see how it works out for him... please just dont fracture the locker room as this thing goes on... to this point he hasnt... 

 

All reports are that they are close. So with that, I'm sure the discussion was more along the lines of "We'd love to have you out there, Jimbo", "Sorry coach, I cant risk injury until this deal gets done", "Understood. We'd still like to have you dress and be with the team", "No problem".

 

McD understands this business as well. The players even more so. Nothing is getting fractured, especially Cook's leg.

[Dillenger4]

I hope we are close to seeing a deal get done with Cook. We need him out there this year. Big loss if he is disgruntled/tagged/nothing happens. He has earned it imo.

[finn]

26 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

Yea i am on the Pay cook train.  Not having a fully invested Cook for this season would be a huge blow.  

 

They paid shakir, they should pay Cook.  Cook is the more productive and better player.  If I was cook that would be my issue.  

 

 

Fine. Pay him commensurate with Shakir's bargain contract, which might be on the table already. Shakir didn't ask to be paid like Ja'Mar Chase, and Cook should not be paid like Saquan. 

 

No, I would play hardball. He's saying, "Pay me more than I'm worth," so fairness has nothing to do with it. Let him sit for the first half of the season, see if he realizes he's blowing one of the four prime years he has left and not getting paid at all. If he wants to miss the whole season, fine, only franchise him next year and trade his selfish, me-first carcass. Every passing day of his holdout is more evidence he's no Buffalo Bill. 

[Doc Brown]

55 minutes ago, TBBills Fan said:

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/bills-james-cook-need-to-get-deal-done-asafp

Yes Florio.  Beane should meet his contract demands even though you have no clue what they are.  Also, comparing Cook to elite bellcow backs who happened to work out on the first year of their new contracts means the running back position value has done a complete 180 and they need to be payed as such.  Let's ignore Murray, Elliott, Bell, Gurley, D. Johnson, Dalvin, etc..  Bills need to pay him now so it doesn't mess up the team vibes.  Glad this guy isn't a GM.

[JP51]

39 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

But like you said, reports are that they are close, and it sounds like we're near the Williams deal... So it's about to be on Beane to step up and make it $11.5M or $12M or whatever slight difference there is and get it done. Doesnt sound from any report that Cook is holding strong at $15M.

 

Big Baller Beane needs to be Bridge Builder Beane if we're this close.

 

 

 

All reports are that they are close. So with that, I'm sure the discussion was more along the lines of "We'd love to have you out there, Jimbo", "Sorry coach, I cant risk injury until this deal gets done", "Understood. We'd still like to have you dress and be with the team", "No problem".

 

McD understands this business as well. The players even more so. Nothing is getting fractured, especially Cook's leg.

That is what I am hoping for to be sure... its not an issue now... I am really hoping this gets solved everyone is happy and we can move on with the season. 

[DrDawkinstein]

2 minutes ago, finn said:

Fine. Pay him commensurate with Shakir's bargain contract, which might be on the table already. Shakir didn't ask to be paid like Ja'Mar Chase, and Cook should not be paid like Saquan. 

 

No, I would play hardball. He's saying, "Pay me more than I'm worth," so fairness has nothing to do with it. Let him sit for the first half of the season, see if he realizes he's blowing one of the four prime years he has left and not getting paid at all. If he wants to miss the whole season, fine, only franchise him next year and trade his selfish, me-first carcass. Every passing day of his holdout is more evidence he's no Buffalo Bill. 

Good news, Cook has never asked to be paid anything close to Barkley. So no need to worry about that strawman.

 

Cook is also far more productive, and far more important to this team, than Shakir. So yeah, something in that $11M-$14M range sound about right.

 

The rest of the hating and weird punishment fantasies, you can just keep yourself.

[boater]

15 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

Good news, Cook has never asked to be paid anything close to Barkley. So no need to worry about that strawman.

 

Cook is also far more productive, and far more important to this team, than Shakir. So yeah, something in that $11M-$14M range sound about right.

 

The rest of the hating and weird punishment fantasies, you can just keep yourself.

 

I have no argument with the bolded... IF it is a contract offered after a stellar 2025 season.

 

I merely take issue with Cook's timing. If his 2025 season is great, offer him $14M, no heartburn with that. He's looking for a payday 9 months too early. 

[DrDawkinstein]

13 minutes ago, boater said:

 

I have no argument with the bolded... IF it is a contract offered after a stellar 2025 season.

 

I merely take issue with Cook's timing. If his 2025 season is great, offer him $14M, no heartburn with that. He's looking for a payday 9 months too early. 

 

I'm pretty sure the Bills reached out on all of these extensions for players going into their last year. Otherwise Bernard, Benford, Rousseau, and Shakir all asked too early too? Cook's just happens to be the trickiest for a number of reasons.

 

And I'd bet none of those other players/agents blindly signed the first offer that came across the table without some negotiation.

 

No offense to you, @boater, but this constant twisting of the narrative by so many Bills fans to always make Cook the bad guy somehow is exhausting, and a bad look for the so-called "best fan base".

 

There are NO bad guys here. Beane is trying to do what's best for the org, and Cook is doing what is best for himself as the player. And hopefully they can find common ground. That's all.

 

Edited Monday at 04:21 PM by DrDawkinstein

[PoundingDog]

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

Beane is trying to do what's best for the org, and Cook is doing what is best for himself as the player. And hopefully they can find common ground. That's all.

Best line I see on this issue. If the the 2 perspectives have a common ground, a deal will be done; otherwise, it's a no.

[SoonerBillsFan]

2 hours ago, MikePJ76 said:

Yea i am on the Pay cook train.  Not having a fully invested Cook for this season would be a huge blow.  

 

They paid shakir, they should pay Cook.  Cook is the more productive and better player.  If I was cook that would be my issue.  

 

 

No.  His market is Williams,he wants  Barkley money,so no.

[DrDawkinstein]

8 minutes ago, PoundingDog said:

Best line I see on this issue. If the the 2 perspectives have a common ground, a deal will be done; otherwise, it's a no.

 

And it sounds like they're at least standing in the same yard right now.

 

4 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

No.  His market is Williams,he wants  Barkley money,so no.

 

Link one/any quote of Cook asking for $20M.

[BarleyNY]

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

I'm pretty sure the Bills reached out on all of these extensions for players going into their last year. Otherwise Bernard, Benford, Rousseau, and Shakir all asked too early too? Cook's just happens to be the trickiest for a number of reasons.

 

And I'd bet none of those other players/agents blindly signed the first offer that came across the table without some negotiation.

 

No offense to you, @boater, but this constant twisting of the narrative by so many Bills fans to always make Cook the bad guy somehow is exhausting, and a bad look for the so-called "best fan base".

 

There are NO bad guys here. Beane is trying to do what's best for the org, and Cook is doing what is best for himself as the player. And hopefully they can find common ground. That's all.

 

 

To be fair I’ve seen many posters take one side or the other and portray the other as the unreasonable “bad guy”. Based on the other deals that Bean has done and Cook’s representation I’ve been of the opinion that it is more likely that the Bills are more in line with the market than Cook’s agent. 

 

That all said, none of us know what the Bills have offered or what Cook’s agent has asked for. We don’t know which - or even if either - is being unreasonable. Sometimes there’s just an unbridgeable gap and a team and player have to find a way through the season. Hopefully that’s not the case and they still come to an agreement before the season starts. Also I’m not worried about this being a true problem until it gets to week one. 

[MikePJ76]

2 hours ago, finn said:

Fine. Pay him commensurate with Shakir's bargain contract, which might be on the table already. Shakir didn't ask to be paid like Ja'Mar Chase, and Cook should not be paid like Saquan. 

 

No, I would play hardball. He's saying, "Pay me more than I'm worth," so fairness has nothing to do with it. Let him sit for the first half of the season, see if he realizes he's blowing one of the four prime years he has left and not getting paid at all. If he wants to miss the whole season, fine, only franchise him next year and trade his selfish, me-first carcass. Every passing day of his holdout is more evidence he's no Buffalo Bill. 

 

8 minutes ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

No.  His market is Williams,he wants  Barkley money,so no.

 

He hasn't asked to be paid like Barkley.  He asked high because that is normal for any negotiations.  Also we have no idea what his agent actually asked for.  That is important to keep in mind.  We also have no idea what Shakir would have asked for had he not been resigned.  Shakir has accounted for 9 touchdowns in his career about a third of Cook's.  Cook deserves more money than shakir because he is a better player and produces more.

 

He is better than Williams whether or not he plays all 3 downs also.  He is a unique playmaker and is a perfect fit with this team.

 

IMO, he should have been paid before Shakir and then they could have gone to Shakir with his deal.  

 

Giving Cook 3 or 4 years at 12 or 13 million is not going to stop the team from doing business with the guys they want to keep going forward.  

[RichRiderBills]

Ugh...on most folks assumptions on the hard $.

 

Guy does one little tweet and we are dead set he wants huge Barkley money. I admit I don't know how this will turn out or where it is. 

 

My honest guess is the Bills offer / ball park is 8-10 million. Cook wanted 12-14....but maybe now w Williams deal things are getting clearer. 

 

Bills just don't overpay guys. Especially lately. 

 

The bottom line is he's not a 3 down back like Williams. Can't block well. 

 

It's also very possible Bills strategic plan is just not to pay him. God knows.

 

I'm honestly not sure. I definitely want them to get a deal done though.