Bijan gets Paid!!!

[TBBills Fan]

22 hours ago, Stads said:

It's crazy that Zay Flowers is making $65 million more than Bijan (with a 4th year). Running backs are still way undervalued. No one would say they would choose Zay over Bijan if they were starting a team from scratch

I'd take bijan over zay all day

[JP51]

Cook deal keeps looking better each year... 

[Alphadawg7]

On 8/4/2026 at 6:59 AM, Brand J said:

It was also funny to me to see everyone praise the $15M/yr deal Shakir got, but so many wanted nothing to do with Cook at the same amount. “It’s the market,” they said. Contracts should be relative to value, is Shakir or Palmer more valuable to this offense than Cook? I like that RBs - who touch the ball far more than any WR - are starting to realize their value again. They should all be short 3 year deals like this since it is a position that’s run into the ground. 

 

You cant compare different positions contracts, let alone todays market to a different market.  Market for Shakir was over $18M and some talk he could get $20m in FA, so him staying here at a discount was a win at $15M.  That is what got praised, the DISCCOUNT to his MARKET value.  

 

Cook, at the time, was pushing for what was ABOVE MARKET value in a market where RB's did not make $15M a year unless you were the best in the NFL.  The demand for ABOVE market value at that time was what got the push back.  And at taht point, Cook was not in the top 5 elite conversation as he had not put together his monster year yet.  Not only was he not considered a top 5 RB at that time, but he wasn't even consistently landing on top 10 lists yet.  He has since proven otherwise, but again, you are bringing up peoples reactions to two different contracts, at 2 different positions, in 2 different markets.

The RB market has since shifted with Saquan opening the door to bigger RB contracts again after the fact.  Now, Cook has a bargain of a deal that is suddenly UNDER MARKET becasue the market has changed and Cook has elevated his status to the elite category after leading the NFL in rushing last year.  

 

There is context to these stories, and leaving the context out paints a false narratiave and false picture.  

[Paup 1995MVP]

On 8/4/2026 at 2:23 PM, Buffalo716 said:

 

I mean that is a fair deal for both sides because his numbers are not the same if he's on the Jets 

 

His numbers aren't the same with no run blocking...

 

And he's realistically not as dynamic as a saquon Barkley... He is in that second tier of running backs 4 5 6 7 8.. and all those guys are close..  he's not built like a traditional Thoroughbred which can impact his long-term durability also 

 

I think his deal was perfectly fair.. if anything the Kenneth Walker deals are too high.. and the rookie just got kicked in the top five so he's getting a lot of money 

 

Every year new signings outpace the old signings... We had five running backs signed good size contracts recently 

 

So before those guys cook was 5th place average per year.. perfectly reasonable the new deals pushed him outside the top 10 but that is how the NFL works with contracts

I agree that new contracts always reset the market at all positions.  But I think you are underestimating James Cooks' ability.  Noone is a good runner with no blocking.

 

Saquon had the Eagles best O line two years ago.  Last year when their O line started to faulter, so did his numbers.

 

Cook is underpaid.  

[Buffalo716]

3 minutes ago, Paup 1995MVP said:

I agree that new contracts always reset the market at all positions.  But I think you are underestimating James Cooks' ability.  Noone is a good runner with no blocking.

 

Saquon had the Eagles best O line two years ago.  Last year when their O line started to faulter, so did his numbers.

 

Cook is underpaid.  

Everybody thinks they are underpaid in the NFL 

 

And please tell me where I am underestimating his ability.. I've called him a star.. he is very very good 

 

He is not in my opinion a top four running back.. he's five to 8.. because he is a scheme fit guy.. he cannot run in every single running scheme with the same effectiveness 

 

And then if you take away the deals that were just signed he was basically paid five to eight last year which is absolutely fair markets

 

He had like the sixth highest paid running back contract last year which is fair market value.. six other running backs helped reset the market this year but guess what he was 6 last year which is not underpaid

 

Top NFL contracts per position change yearly what was once 6 becomes 12th all the time..  when he signed he was like sixth highest paid.. and he's probably the 5th to 8th best running back all around

 

 

 

Edited August 5 by Buffalo716

[Sojourner]

20 hours ago, H2o said:

I see Gibbs as a Marshal Faulk clone, though I think he is just a step faster. He has the potential to be a 1,000/1,000 guy, if Detroit uses him that way. 

Agreed and like I said before it’s not whether hed produce with the workload, I’m sure he would. The talent is in the absolute top of the league. It’s whether hed be able to handle the extra 100+ touches in a season. We’ve yet to see it and I would probably be proved wrong but I doubt it would be multiple seasons (2 to 3 consecutively). 

[DrDawkinstein]

And now Jonthan Taylor goes up above $20M/yr. Gibbs still in talks.

 

Get ready for a Cook renegotiation.

 

 

 

[hikerprof2]

With the Taylor deal, yes now Cook looks like a steal.  Averaging at 12 mil per year-I'm glad to have him at that price, but if I were GM I would not have blinked at 15 mil. And by comparison that still would have been a great deal.  So let's appreciate Cookie (not Gilchrist). He is honestly our only star player besides Allen.

[DCofNC]

On 8/4/2026 at 11:05 PM, HappyDays said:

 

Uh Kenneth Walker? The Super Bowl MVP?

YES, the BACKUP, all year long!  Such a valuable position, the BACKUP can win the SB MVP.  Sounds like a premium position to pay!

On 8/5/2026 at 11:01 AM, Brand J said:

Have you forgotten the days of Devin Singletary and Zack Moss? How do you think the Bills rushing attack would look if one of those two were the primary ball carrier? Does the offense score as many TDs? Can they even sustain drives? It would literally be all on Allen every drive.

Take away James Cook and his impact and see what that gets you in a league hyper focused on stopping the pass.

Umm, did you watch what those guys did after leaving here?  Moss was leading the league in rushing before Taylor came back and DS was also very good.  Would there be a drop off?  Probably, but if you factor in the extra 10M a year to add another weapon?? Well now we can afford a real #1 WR!  

[DCofNC]

On 8/4/2026 at 11:18 PM, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

Who just signed a 3 yr, $43+m deal 😂

Which is…. Stupidity defined and still not premium contract.  Also it’s really only a 2 year deal in all reality.   For all things the Chiefs are, they are not exactly experts in RB talent evaluation.  They are about as good as Bean w LBs. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

The truth of the matter is that ELITE players will always end up landing an ELITE contract regardless of position. RB is not immune to that fact. Robinson, Taylor, McCaffrey, Cook...all elite level football players. 

[BillsFanForever19]

49 minutes ago, DCofNC said:

YES, the BACKUP, all year long!  Such a valuable position, the BACKUP can win the SB MVP.  Sounds like a premium position to pay!

 

That's just factually incorrect.

 

Kenneth Walker was the starting Running Back for the Seahawks and had been their starter (unless injured) since he was Drafted in 2022. And he started all 17 games for them last season. 

 

Before doubling down after being corrected, you should probably double check your information.

Edited August 6 by BillsFanForever19

[DCofNC]

20 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

That's just factually incorrect.

 

Kenneth Walker was the starting Running Back for the Seahawks and had been their starter (unless injured) since he was Drafted in 2022. And he started all 17 games for them last season. 

 

Before doubling down after being corrected, you should probably double check your information.

Yeah, ok.  Listed on a depth chart and real life are different.  He was clearly Rb 2 at the end of the year and had pissed away his lead roll.  The fact he was losing touches to Charbonett tells you everything.  This is another Najee Harris scenario. 

Edited August 6 by DCofNC

[BillsFanForever19]

1 hour ago, DCofNC said:

Yeah, ok.  Listed on a depth chart and real life are different.  He was clearly Rb 2 at the end of the year and had pissed away his lead roll.  The fact he was losing touches to Charbonett tells you everything.  This is another Najee Harris scenario. 

 

Every start is documented in official league statistics that are easily found. Beyond the "depth chart", here are the official stats:

 

Kenneth Walker:

17 games, 17 starts

228 Rushes for 1050 yards

31 Receptions for 228 yards

259 Touches for 1278 yards and 9 TDs

 

Zach Charbonnet:

16 games, 0 starts

184 Rushes for 730 yards

20 Receptions for 144 yards

204 Touches for 844 yards and 12 TDs

 

So you've got the official depth chart, the official start count, and the touches and production favoring Kenneth Walker. 

 

At most you can say they had what's close to a committee between the two and would lean towards the hot hand on any given game. But there has never been a question who the starter is in Seattle. *Especially* in the Super Bowl.

 

I've posted things that are incorrect and been corrected. But your insurance to try and say you're still correct when you're so clearly wrong is baffling to me 😂

Edited August 6 by BillsFanForever19

[TBBills Fan]

38 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

Every start is documented in official league statistics that is easily found. Beyond the "depth chart", here are the official stats:

 

Kenneth Walker:

17 games, 17 starts

228 Rushes for 1050 yards

31 Receptions for 228 yards

259 Touches for 1278 yards and 9 TDs

 

Zach Charbonnet:

16 games, 0 starts

184 Rushes for 730 yards

20 Receptions for 144 yards

204 Touches for 844 yards and 12 TDs

 

So you've got the official depth chart, the official start count, and the touches and production favoring Kenneth Walker. 

 

At most you can say they had what's close to a committee between the two and would lean towards the hot hand on any given game. But there has never been a question who the starter is in Seattle. *Especially* in the Super Bowl.

 

I've posted things that are incorrect and been corrected. But your insurance to try and say you're still correct when you're so clearly wrong is baffling to me 😂

He just tried to compare moss and Singletary to Cook...

 

I mean if he had watched all the games the last 8 years the difference is so clear an 80 year old blind man can see the difference

[BillsFanForever19]

6 hours ago, DCofNC said:

Which is…. Stupidity defined and still not premium contract.  Also it’s really only a 2 year deal in all reality.   For all things the Chiefs are, they are not exactly experts in RB talent evaluation.  They are about as good as Bean w LBs. 

 

Also: