Cook contract dispute brings drama to Bills camp

Rochester, N.Y. –  The first episode of HBO's Hard Knocks featuring the Buffalo Bills aired Tuesday night with precious little drama on display, which is exactly the way this franchise likes to operate. 

Happy players and coaches in a team-first atmosphere trying to win a Super Bowl. That's the Bills, or at least it was for the first eight practices of training camp. 

The Hard Knocks’ cut-off for episode one content came Friday, two days before running back James Cook broke up the peace by expressing his dissatisfaction with his contract by executing a hold-in, the first such maneuver by a Bills player under Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane. 

Cook arrived at camp two weeks ago amid much speculation that he would be a non-participant at camp, but he told the media on the second day that he planned to participate and not get fined. 

That abruptly changed on Sunday, with his only explanation being "business" – the word he repeated over and over to reporters who approached him after he watched that day's practice in street clothes.

Cook was a visible on the sideline for the start of practice on Monday. He was nowhere to be seen on Wednesday.

Cook is coming off his third NFL season, where he rushed for 1,000 yards for the first time in his career and tied a franchise record with 16 rushing touchdowns. He also demonstrated his ability to catch the ball by adding 32 receptions for 272 yards and three more touchdowns.

That production led him to state via social media this off-season that he's seeking a deal that will pay him $15 million per season. That's a number that would put him even with Baltimore's Derrick Henry and behind only San Francisco's Christian McCaffrey and Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley, at $19 million and $20 million respectively, among the top of the NFL's running back market. 

A few issues exist between the Bills and Cook getting an extension, including the fact that Beane has never drafted and signed a running back to a second contract, letting Devin Singletary go at the end of Cook's rookie year. 

Another issue has to do with Cook's workload with the Bills, which has been lighter than that of most feature backs around the league. 

Cook, who split time with rookie Ray Davis and veteran Ty Johnson last season, played just 48 per cent of Buffalo's offensive snaps last season, often coming out for Johnson in third-down situations. 

By comparison, Kyren Williams of the LA Rams, who was taken in the same draft as Cook and just signed a three-year, $33 million extension this week, played 81.5 per cent of his team's snaps and had an NFL-high 43 per cent of all touches. 

That last number for Cook was just 24 per cent in the 2024-25 season, so it's not hard to see why the Bills aren't in a hurry to pay him at the rate of the NFL's best and most utilized backs. 

By sitting out practice, Cook's reps go to Davis and Johnson. An injury to either one could up his leverage. 

It also gives the Bills a look at their offence without Cook, which can be a dangerous path for players at the game's most replaceable position. 

Cook hasn't explained his position publicly, so there's no being sure about when he plans to rejoin practice, but it would be more than a little surprising should he allow things to bleed late into camp or even into the regular season. 

The best course for him remains to play out the final season of his rookie deal and try and make himself indispensable to the Bills or highly attractive to other teams as his rookie contract expires. 

But for now, an organization with a culture that emphasizes selflessness and that has seen several players sign team-friendly contracts over the past two off-seasons, has a problem on its hands. 

It seems predictable where all this is headed, with the Bills unlikely to cave before the season begins. But only Cook and his representatives know for sure. 

And Hard Knocks has some of the drama it so badly craves.