Brandon Beane: James Cook knows he has to be "guy we saw" to get paid
Cook is headed into the final year of his rookie deal.
Bills General Manager Brandon Beane said this week that the team wants to have running back James Cook on the team beyond the 2025 season, but making that happen will require the use of a franchise tag or an agreement on a long-term contract.
Cook made his desired salary of $15 million a year known early in the offseason and Beane said in March that he didn't see a deal coming together anytime soon, so it wasn't surprising to learn that Cook is not taking part in the voluntary portion of the team's offseason program. During an interview with Tyler Dunne of Go Long, Beane said he isn't concerned about Cook's absence because he's confident that the running back knows what he needs to do in 2025 in order to get the kind of contract he wants.
"You’d love for everyone to be here," Beane said. "Who wouldn’t? You’d love them to be around and start forming that bond. But James is working. I know he’s down there training in South Florida. He’s working. First of all, he’s competitive. And sure, everyone wants to get paid and he knows he’s got to still show he’s James Cook — the guy we saw — if he wants to get that pay day. Either from us or someone else. That’s any player that doesn’t currently have their contract extensions yet."
Beane said "there’s very few" running backs on the tier of Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, and Derrick Henry when asked about his view on big investments in running backs in general. Cook's target suggests he feels he is in that tier after 2,834 yards from scrimmage and 24 touchdowns over the last two seasons. Beane's comments suggest that the third time will have to be the charm.
