James Cook Contract Extension: Buffalo Bills Running Back Signs Deal

The Buffalo Bills and James Cook have been discussing a new contract all offseason and a new update from Brandon Bean puts it into crystal clear focus exactly where things stand between the two

In this video, we're going to discuss this new update and what it could mean for James Cook's future in Buffalo

What's up, everybody? It is John Helmkamp with A to Z Buffalo. The saga of James Cook continues

It's been something that's been ongoing for a couple months, ever since James Cook made it publicly known that he wants $15 million per year going forward, which would make him currently the third highest paid running back in the NFL after Saquon Barkley became the first running back to top $20 million per year

So what's the update? Brandon Bean at the owners meetings was asked about James Cook and made it very clear that the two sides have spoken

They've gone back and forth and that they're really not close on the financial side of things right now

So much so that Brandon Bean said that they decided to move on and turn their attention to players that they felt they were more on the same page with

Ever since James Cook made his contract desires known, Bean has gone on to extend Greg Russo, Terrell Bernard, Khalil Shakir, Christian Benford

He's gotten a lot of other work done while James Cook is still sitting out there without a new contract

So as we're heading into the NFL draft season, Brandon Bean said that they're on to the draft, that they're not likely going to get anything done with James Cook

at this point he did say maybe we have something done with james cook before he becomes a free agent but that doesn sound to me like they really interested in working on a new contract situation throughout the course of this season So one more piece of information that just became

publicly available. James Cook actually listed his Buffalo area home for sale. Obviously, that

brings about a ton of speculation. I'm not sure exactly what it means. It could mean that he thinks

a trade is imminent and that he's moving. It could mean nothing. It could mean that he just wants a

short-term option and to put some money in the bank. Who knows? It's all speculation at this point

But there's a lot of smoke around James Cook and not necessarily in the right way if you're

a fan of wanting James Cook on the team for the foreseeable future. I think that James Cook is an incredible asset

I've said it on video before that I think that James Cook deserves to get paid

But I also understand the financial side of things. James Cook had an incredibly efficient season where he tied the league lead in rushing touchdowns

touchdowns, despite having almost 150 carries less than Derrick Henry. It's a very interesting

situation that's brewing, especially when you look at this year's draft class and you understand

that this is a historically deep running back class and that Brandon Bean currently has two

second round picks at his disposal where one of those could be allocated to the running back position. So how this shakes out in the coming weeks leading up to the NFL draft is going to be

very important to watch, but it does seem like something might potentially be brewing

with the Bills potentially looking to move on from James Cook. We'll see

We'll see what moves Brandon Bean decides to make. But as of now, the two sides aren't anywhere close to getting a deal done to lock him up

for the future. Let me know what you guys think about the James Cook situation and what Brandon Bean

should do in the comments down below. And I'll catch you guys next time