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James Cook may be present at Buffalo Bills training camp this week, but he won’t be backing down when it comes to contract negotiations with the franchise.
Cook, the NFL’s leader in rushing touchdowns last season, made his stance clear after participating in the first two days of camp.
“We have talks,” he said, via ESPN. “I mean, I deserve what I want, I need, and it’s going to eventually happen.”
Reporters followed up, asking Cook if he feels confident the Bills will meet his contract extension demands.
“I mean, however it happens, it’s going to get done. Wherever it happens at,” he said.
The 25-year-old doesn’t lack confidence, and that was seen this offseason when he went live on Instagram with a caption of “15 mill [per] year.”
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If that is the case, Cook would be tied with Baltimore Ravens veteran Derrick Henry for the third-highest average annual value at the running back position in the NFL.
Cook has posted previously on social media about his contract situation, and he noted Thursday he has no regrets about going public with how he feels.
Bills GM Brandon Beane discussed Cook’s situation with reporters at the start of training camp.
“Sometimes you can’t get on the same page, or sometimes you’re trying to fit it in,” Beane explained, per ESPN. “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 has one more year left on his rookie deal with the Bills, which took him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Georgia. If Cook and the Bills can’t reach an extension by next season, he would be a free agent unless the team decides to slap its franchise tag on him.
Unlike other players, past and present, Cook was participating in the Bills’ mandatory offseason practices while his contract negotiations were ongoing.
“It’s my job,” he said about reporting. “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 called the Bills a “great organization” and one he wants to continue playing for. But he’s made it clear where he stands, and it doesn’t seem like he’s willing to leave any money on the table.
To go along with his 16 rushing touchdowns last season, Cook rushed for 1,009, his second straight year cracking the 1,000-yard mark after totaling 1,122 in a breakout 2023 campaign.
While it’s clear Cook is the lead running back on the depth chart, Ray Davis and Ty Johnson do spell him for snaps and have showcased abilities to help the Bills’ dynamic offense get down the field and into the end zone.
Cook played just 48% of offensive snaps over his 16 Bills games last season.
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