Bills Mafia Right To Worry About James Cook Holdout And Messy Divorce

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook was the first player this offseason to vocalize his want for a new and improved contract, with the ballpark being roughly $15 million APY.

That would make him one of the highest-paid backs in football, and after back-to-back seasons of 1,000 yards and a 16-touchdown regular season in 2024, many feel that is warranted.

But Buffalo turned its attention to a host of other stars in Josh Allen, Greg Rousseau, Khalil Shakir, Terrel Bernard and Christian Benford to get deals done, leaving Cook without an extension.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport stated on the Pat McAfee Show that he expects Cook to be a Bill in 2025, but things "aren't great" between player and franchise.

Then we have Cook putting his Buffalo house up for sale, which isn't usually news as players move all the time, but Rapoport did state that it's likely James knew this would become known, and now it has blown up the contract saga even more.

To us, it seems that things are heading down a sour path that could eventually lead to a messy split. ... or, at least, on the road to a contract holdout - something Bills Mafia has a right to worry about.

General manager Brandon Beane did state at the annual league meeting that just because Cook doesn't have a new deal now, won't mean he isn't getting one next season, but it has become clear that No. 4 isn't too happy about playing on the last year of his rookie deal.

However, that feels like the road he will have to go down in 2025.

As Rapoport stated, things aren't great now, so what can turn this ship around? A new contract is the obvious answer, but Buffalo doesn't have the cap space to get one done comfortably right now (just $5.2 million in space per Over The Cap).

We have seen contract situations get messy with players holding out of training camp in an attempt to get the deal they desire. It isn't known if Cook will resort to that, but one thing is for sure: he isn't getting his contract this offseason.

And exactly where that leaves player and franchise is right where they don't want to be - in a bad spot.