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The Buffalo Bills opened up their first week of their voluntary offseason workouts with one notable piece missing: starting running back James Cook.

Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane noted that Cook was absent from the team workouts, although Beane emphasized that, when it comes to this week, “It’s voluntary.” Beane cautioned to assume that Cook was absent due to contract talks.

Entering the final year of his rookie deal, Cook has seen three teammates from his 2022 draft class earn four-year contract extension this offseason: wide receiver Khalil Shakir, linebacker Terrel Bernard and cornerback Christian Benford.

“Try not to look too far into it,” Beane said. “We could all assume he’s not here because he’s unhappy with his contract or whatever, but that’s not fair. He hasn’t told me that. No one’s told me that he said that, but I think that’s kind of unfair to say he’s not here because of that.”

The 25-year-old Cook posted his second straight 1,000-yard season a year ago while also tying the franchise record with 16 rushing touchdowns. In three seasons, Cook has rushed for 2,638 yards and 20 TDs.

Cook has publicly stated his desire to lock up a new contract. In February, he took to Instagram Live and pinned the comment “15 mill year” to the top of the feed, no doubt referring to his asking price of $15 million per year. That would make him the third-highest-paid running back behind Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley ($20.6 million) and San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey ($19 million).

–Field Level Media