Mike Florio Sounds Alarm on Buffalo Bills’ James Cook Contract Holdout

Mike Florio Sounds Alarm on Buffalo Bills’ James Cook Contract Holdout originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Less than a month remains until the Buffalo Bills kick off their season against the Baltimore Ravens, but it remains to be seen whether or not they’ll do so with James Cook in the starting backfield.

Although Cook is at training camp, the two-time Pro Bowler isn’t practicing as he awaits a new contract. Cook, who turns 26 on Sept. 25, is in the final season of his rookie deal and fresh off rushing for 1,009 yards and a league-leading 16 touchdowns.

Cook wants a new contract, and the Bills seemingly want to wait. The two sides remain far enough apart that Cook hasn’t practiced in over a week, and there is no reason to believe that he’ll suit up against the Chicago Bears next Sunday night.

NBC Sports’ Mike Florio has had enough, writing on Monday that both sides need to make nice and end their “bizarre chess match.”

“In the end, it’s not about what Cook wants,” Florio wrote. “It’s about what he won’t refuse.

“The Bills should make him an offer [that he] won’t refuse,” Florio continued. “And then they should be careful to properly re-acclimate him to the game before he risks injury.”

Cook is owed $5.27 million this season, though he is not guaranteed to hit unrestricted free agency. The Bills can apply the franchise tag on Cook upon season’s end and attempt to keep him in Buffalo through the end of 2026.

“The Bills have a choice,” Florio wrote. “They can milk the rookie wage scale and do what they had hoped to do with Cook, or they can recognize that, if they want to win a Super Bowl, it makes sense to take care of one of their best players, even if they currently don’t ‘have’ to.”

Barring a trade, second-year running back Ray Davis would likely move into Cook’s starting spot if the latter refuses to play. Davis rushed for 442 yards and scored six touchdowns from scrimmage as a rookie.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 11, 2025, where it first appeared.

Mike Florio Sounds Alarm on Buffalo Bills’ James Cook Contract Holdout

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