One of the big reasons that the Buffalo Bills had as much success as they did this past season was the emergence of James Cook into a touchdown-scoring machine. But that emergence also means that he's outperformed his rookie contract.
Cook scored a league-leading 16 touchdowns on the ground in 2024. His mark was tied with Jahmyr Gibbs and Derrick Henry for the most in the league.
Heading into his fourth NFL, Cook is entering a contract year and is due $5.3 million in 2025. Cook has made it pretty clear in some recent posts on social media that he's looking for two to three times that amount. He's put his house up for sale and stalled all contract talks with the team.
But NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday, that Cook intends to play for the Bills in 2025 regardless.
"He will play for the Bills," Rapoport said, via ProFootballTalk.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 26: Running back James Cook #4 of the Buffalo Bills carries the ball during the second half of the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 26, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)
Cook was a second-round pick out of Georgia in the 2022 NFL Draft. After playing a supporting role as a rookie in 2022, he became the Bills' starter in 2023 and immediately became a 1,000-yard rusher. But over those first two seasons he totaled just four touchdowns on the ground.
That all changed in 2024 when Cook quadrupled that total with 16 of them in 16 games.
Cook continued to be a big factor for the Bills in the playoffs, averaging over 90 yards per game in their first two playoff games. But the Bills mysteriously took the ball out of his hands against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game and their season came to an end.
Will Cook play his way into a lucrative extension with the Bills at the end of the 2025 season, or is he bound for free agency in 2026?
