The Buffalo Bills and their star running back continue to be at an impasse in contract negotiations. And James Cook didn’t just put his Orchard Park house up for sale because he’s obsessed with real estate ventures.
Cook is coming off of back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and even led the league in rushing touchdowns last year. His stated position?
He wants $15 million per year – a top of the market value for a top player in his position.
Buffalo is making is pretty clear it isn’t looking to give that kind of deal out … especially to a running back at this time of the “devaluation” of that position.
Now along comes our man Ian Rapoport of NFL Network to paint a picture of just how bumpy the ride is about to get.
“Rap Sheet” jumped on “The Pat McAfee Show” recently to explain just how bad things have gotten for both sides.
“He’ll play for the Bills (this) year,” Rapoport said. “The house for sale … it doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but players know it gets reported. So when you do that, that’s a pretty big statement. … You don’t need to do it. Does it really affect things? I don’t know, but everyone notices.”
Allow us to jump in here: The likelihood is that Cook put his home up for sale not because he wants a new place with a fancy home office or a bigger yard.
He did it to get noticed.
“I know the negotiations didn’t go great,” Rap said. “I do know he’s a player the Bills would like to have in their future, because he’s young and he’s awesome on the field. I’m not sure him coming out and saying he wanted to make $15 million was the most welcome thing in the organization.”
“Stuff’s about to go down. Like, something is not right.”
This offseason, Buffalo has given extensions to other players, including edge rusher Greg Rousseau, linebacker Terrel Bernard and wide receiver Khalil Shakir.
The most recent deal, a four-year, $76 million contract to cornerback Christian Benford, is one that essentially marked the end of the negotiating period for the Bills — especially in the mind of general manager Brandon Beane.
“Once we got Benford done, I don’t see us doing any deals anytime soon. We’re gonna focus on the draft and getting our cap in order,” Beane said. “We want nothing more, just like these other guys, for James to continue being a Buffalo Bill well past this season, but we are where we are, and there’s no hard feelings from us.”
Cook’s contract standoff is only getting worse. And might get uglier once offseason activities begin. … and yes, “stuff’s about to go down.” And “something is not right.”
No Comment! Be the first one.