James Cook has gradually turned into one of the NFL‘s better young running backs over the past three years since being drafted out of Georgia in 2022.
Although he has not quite managed to establish himself amongst the very elite up-and-comers at his position; Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and Kyren Williams all had more productive seasons; he has added a true dynamic running game to the Bills beyond the mere acrobatics of quarterback, Josh Allen.
As such, and with this offseason being Cook’s first in which he is eligible to receive an extension from his rookie deal, the brother of former Minnesota Vikings star, Dalvin, is looking to cash in on his impressive play that included a league leading 16 rushing touchdowns in 2024.
James Cook Reacts To Saquon Barkley Contract Extension
In not so subtle fashion, Cook started the negotiation mind-games off with a two-word reaction to fellow back and reigning Offensive Player of the Year, Saquon Barkley, receiving a 2 year, $41 million extension on Tuesday.
Good business ! https://t.co/nwfFJNbbt1
â James Cook (@thegreat__4) March 4, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
“Good business !”
An emphatic and yet muted statement tells all that you need to know about Cook’s feelings about his future and the running back market in general.
After a multitude of RBs found success at new organizations after receiving inexpensive deals in free agency; Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Aaron Jones Sr.; many believe the position is due a financial revival in 2025 and beyond.
Unfortunately, the free agent running back market this offseason is painfully thin, so Cook and other potential extension candidates like Kyren Williams and the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Isiah Pacheco will be looking to help bolster their price tags through other top talents getting paid.
Should The Bills Re-Sign Cook This Offseason
Signing a running back a year out is not unheard of, and can at times indeed be good business.
Barkley himself still had two years left on his 3 year, $37 million deal signed last March with the Eagles before getting himself a pay raise on Tuesday.
Brandon Ray of BuffaLowDown believes that this move with Barkley does add some impetus and pressure to the Bills front office to sort a deal out.
“Again, there is no need to rush to sign Cook but the longer you wait, the more expensive he could become. Just go ask former Billsâ assistant general manager Joe Schoen, who is the current general manager of the New York Giants. He didnât prioritize having Barkley back with the Giants and now not only is he with a division rival, but he is a Super Bowl champ.
With free agency and the NFL Draft approaching, it will be interesting to see what moves the Bills make that could potentially impact Cook. If Buffalo doesnât bring in another back that could be worthy of taking over as the starter in a year, then Cook will have leverage.”
But does Cook truly have “leverage” in negotiations? Yes, the team have a totally new dimension offensively since the former 2nd round pick got into his groove, garnering successive 1,000+ yard rushing seasons; but the comparison of him to the likes of Saquon Barkley are apples to oranges.
The league is gradually learning that truly elite talent at every position (outside of perhaps long-snapper) is valuable and can impact the game far beyond the normal scope of their traditional role. Yet, Cook is not an era defining back by any means, coming 16th in the league in rushing yards and 22nd in all-purpose RB yards.
There is certainly a role and a contract that Cook is worthy of, but it is unlikely that his message will cause the Bills’ brass any sleep in the coming days.
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