Buffalo Bills running back James Cook can carry the “check, please” approach through training camp because of his confidence level a big payday is coming soon.
“I mean, however it happens, it’s going to get done. Wherever it happens at,” Cook said Thursday after participating in the first two days of workouts, opting not to hold out while working toward a contract extension.
“We have talks. … I mean, I deserve what I want, I need and it’s going to eventually happen,” Cook said.
Entering the final year of his contract, the 25-year-old Cook set a franchise record for rushing touchdowns in a single season with 16 in 2024. He has 2,638 rushing yards since the Bills drafted him in 2022.
General manager Brandon Beane said the Bills want to be a team that drafts, develops and rewards homegrown talent. But the financial factor is ever-present.
“Sometimes you can’t get on the same page or sometimes you’re trying to fit it in,” Beane said. “There’s times guys have left here that we really wanted. We just couldn’t make it work. But I can tell you, I’m hopeful, when we’re sitting here at next year’s training camp that James Cook is out there practicing and still representing the red, white and blue.”
Cook said he owes only himself, family and teammates. But he reported and is participating in camp out of that obligation and to remind teammates he is ready to go.
“It’s my job,” Cook said. “I got to participate so I won’t get fined and just come out here and just show them that I’m ready to go and earn what I got to go get.”
Cook would be subject to daily fines for not reporting because he’s under contract. He said “I like my money” when asked if the fines were a holdout deterrent.
Asked again Thursday about his Instagram live post underscoring his reference to a price tag of “15 mill (per) year,” Cook said he had no regrets about pinning that figure on social media.
“James is a competitive dude. He’s a stud. He is a great teammate. He wants to be here,” Beane said. “James fits Buffalo. But sometimes you can’t get on the same page.”
–Field Level Media
