Buffalo Bills The offseason begins

[TehDoak]

I don't have an issue with Cook trying to get his payday. These players are all 1 hit away from retirement. My issue is with him doing dumb shit like stop following the Bills and removing most of his Bills content.

I wouldn't be shocked if most of his social media is managed by his agent.

 

[Jim Bob]

I wouldn't be shocked if most of his social media is managed by his agent.

Given what he posts, I would.

I understand the optics, but I don't think we want Beane making longterm business decisions based on what someone said/did through their social media account. It'd be like buying or selling stock based on what's reported in the news rather than the stability of the company. We need to take emotion out of it, for the most part.

Do his teammates respect him? Do the coaches trust him? Does he produce? What's the cap figure? These are the important questions.

Beane isn't going to let social media shenanigans to impact his financial decisions for the team.

Beane is a business/cap guy more so than a scout. That part of things are in his wheelhouse.

I am sure that Beane has a number that he will go to in order to keep Cook long term. If Cook wants more than that...

 

[Jim Bob]

Go back a little further in the McDermott era

2017: 6
2018: 7
2019: 6
2020: 6
2021: 6
2022: 6

The last two years have been the outliers but I think you nailed it with the PS elevations.

Because of the PS elevations I think the Bills could carry less at another position as long as the 5th RB can play special teams.

In 2022 and 2021, they usually only had 5 active on gameday.

I think that they have done in 2023 and 2024 are much more predictive of what they will do in 2025 than what they did earlier on in the McBeane era.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Beane is a business/cap guy more so than a scout. That part of things are in his wheelhouse.

Senior VP Jim Overdorf is also relied upon heavily for cap management.

In his 18 years for the Panthers Beane got more involved in scouting and from Bill's draft video's you can see him scouting at the combine. He has mentioned making visits to college games and other All Star games.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

I wouldn't be shocked if most of his social media is managed by his agent.

His brother Dalvin Cook in undoubtedly leading all this imo.

 

[TehDoak]

His brother Dalvin Cook in undoubtedly leading all this imo.

I mean, he's using his brothers playbook

Dalvin Cook’s reported holdout threat: How we got here and what it means

The Vikings and their running back are still a long way off on a new deal. But there's still plenty of time for things to turn around.

www.nytimes.com

After his 3rd season, he threatened to hold out from camp but showed up.

Eventually, he got a 5 year, 63M contract extension.

He played 3 out of the 5 years and was cut.

Dalvin Cook Contract Details, Salary Cap Charges, Bonus Money, and Contract History | Over The Cap

Dalvin Cook contract and salary cap details, including signing bonus, guaranteed salary, dead money, roster bonuses, and contract history

overthecap.com

Dalvin Cook Career Stats - NFL - ESPN

Complete career NFL stats for Dallas Cowboys Running Back Dalvin Cook on ESPN. Includes scoring, rushing, defensive and receiving stats.

www.espn.com

I mean, he did have a monster 1500 yard season after his contract was signed.

My expectation is that Bills make a fair offer before the draft and if he wants more his name goes on the market to see what the interest would be.

He's picking a bad time to play this game as the draft is a good one for running backs as well as a decent UFA market.

I doubt Buffalo gets much of a return for Cook because of that.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

Instead of drafting a 4th round RB see if we can get Mason for that 4th and maybe a 7th. I think he can replace 90% of Cooks production here

 

[Jim Bob]

I doubt Buffalo gets much of a return for Cook because of that.

If you look at recent trades for RBs, CMC didn't get a 1st (he did return a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, though) and most RBs have returned 4th or 5th round picks.

And even comp picks aren't that great. I think Vegas is expected to get a 5th for losing Josh Jacobs, for instance.

My guess is that the trade market for Cook is a 4th or 5th round pick with a 3rd being the hopeful top end.

 

[Jim Bob]

His brother Dalvin Cook in undoubtedly leading all this imo.

It's similar to Matthew Tkachuk and their dad agitating Brady into maximizing his second deal in Ottawa.

 

[Husko]

I'd probably use and abuse Cook before trading him, unless he refuses to play. Cook for 1 year + Comp pick is almost certainly worth more than whatever the trade comp is

 

[Jim Bob]

I'd probably use and abuse Cook before trading him, unless he refuses to play. Cook for 1 year + Comp pick is almost certainly worth more than whatever the trade comp is

The path I would take would be playing hardball and forcing him to play this year on his escalated deal.

Then I would contemplate the franchise tag in 2026 based on how 2025 goes.

And I wouldn't plan on having Cook beyond 2026.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Chaos2k7]

It's similar to Matthew Tkachuk and their dad agitating Brady into maximizing his second deal in Ottawa.

Both Chucky's are signed to team friendly deals, not so sure that is a great example other than them being brothers.

Both primary divers on their teams, Cook is more of a higher end complementary piece. Wouldn't pay a cent over 10, and that is pushing it for James.

 

[Jim Bob]

Both Chucky's are signed to team friendly deals, not so sure that is a great example other than them being brothers.

Both primary divers on their teams, Cook is more of a higher end complementary piece. Wouldn't pay a cent over 10, and that is pushing it for James.

Matthew Tkachuk on brother Brady's contract talks: 'They're not too close'

In an interview for 31 Thoughts: The Podcast, Matthew Tkachuk says a contract extension for his brother Brady isn’t close to being announced.

www.sportsnet.ca

“Brady might be…he’s doing great,” Matthew teased, before giving his opinion on the progress of negotiations between Brady and the Senators.

“He might be pulling a classic Tkachuk right now. Dad held out, Matthew held out, and Brady looks like he’s on his way right now. So hopefully it can get figured out here. But it’s just a lot of fake stuff out there regarding this. They’re not too close. So hopefully it gets figured out, but who knows? My dad and I are definitely involved. Brady needs us to help him out with that stuff. He wasn’t as cutthroat as we were during it, but he’s starting to become more of a Tkachuk the later this goes.”

 

[Chaos2k7]

Matthew Tkachuk on brother Brady's contract talks: 'They're not too close'

In an interview for 31 Thoughts: The Podcast, Matthew Tkachuk says a contract extension for his brother Brady isn’t close to being announced.

www.sportsnet.ca

Again, all three Chuckys were arguably their teams best players, and were then signed to long term deals for their teams, and were/are main cogs.

James Cook, while good is looking to be paid as the 2nd highest salary at his position and is not regarded as that type of main piece by anyone outside of his own family.

I just don't see the comparison except in negotiation tactics. James isn't worth it, those guys certainly were/are.

 

[Jim Bob]

Again, all three Chuckys were arguably their teams best players, and were then signed to long term deals for their teams, and were/are main cogs.

James Cook, while good is looking to be paid as the 2nd highest salary at his position and is not regarded as that type of main piece by anyone outside of his own family.

I just don't see the comparison except in negotiation tactics. James isn't worth it, those guys certainly were/are.

If you don't see the comparison in family members getting involved in contract expectations/negotiations/situations in the case of Cook, both Tkachuk brothers, and Diggs, then I don't know what to tell you.

They are different situations, but it is very similar, too.

And this conversation wasn't about what Cook is worth. It was about how he is going about things and how his older brother is likely involved given how he handled his contracts and comments he's made online about his brother's future deal.

 

[Chaos2k7]

If you don't see the comparison in family members getting involved in contract expectations/negotiations/situations in the case of Cook, both Tkachuk brothers, and Diggs, then I don't know what to tell you.

They are different situations, but it is very similar, too.

I agree on the tactics, but the actual player impact and quality of players is not the same, Cook is a complementary piece not a main cog worth top of the market money.

 

[Jim Bob]

I agree on the tactics, but the actual player impact and quality of players is not the same, Cook is a complementary piece not a main cog worth top of the market money.

That wasn't what the conversation was about.

I doubt you will find too many educated Bills fans that buy the logic that James Cook is worth the 2nd highest AAV for a RB given that he plays less than 50% of offensive snaps and saw his Snap% and touches drop from 2023 to 2024.

Cook is more than a complementary piece. He is the Bills lead back and the biggest offensive weapon they have not named Josh Allen.

But, he is also a RB in an age when the position has become devalued and he should not be that hard to replace.

 

[Chaos2k7]

That wasn't what the conversation was about.

I doubt you will find too many educated Bills fans that buy the logic that James Cook is worth the 2nd highest AAV for a RB given that he plays less than 50% of offensive snaps and saw his Snap% and touches drop from 2023 to 2024.

Cook is more than a complementary piece. He is the Bills lead back and the biggest offensive weapon they have not named Josh Allen.

But, he is also a RB in an age when the position has become devalued and he should not be that hard to replace.

Career lengths in the NFL make these type of demands and situations much more common than in the NHL.

Can't blame him for asking for the sky but he will end up replaced unless he comes back to reality.

Sub-25 year old NHL players have much more leverage as the wheels don't fall off normally by 28-29.

I can't think of a single team in the NFL that would consider a 15 million a year salary for Cook as being a good deal. Most if not all of the league would be tickled pink to have either Chucky on their current deals.

 

[Zman5778]

I'd love it...............but I'm starting to get this feeling that he's going to rise during this whole process and someone in the 20s is going to take him

 

[Jim Bob]

I'd love it...............but I'm starting to get this feeling that he's going to rise during this whole process and someone in the 20s is going to take him

The whole DL class will be interesting to watch. Does the depth push guys down because teams address thinner positions early? Or, is there a big run on them?

I wonder if they end up going with a CB that falls because of a run on DL leaves them with not great pickings there..

 

[Asymmetric Solution]

Pretty pleased with this one.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

The path I would take would be playing hardball and forcing him to play this year on his escalated deal.

Then I would contemplate the franchise tag in 2026 based on how 2025 goes.

And I wouldn't plan on having Cook beyond 2026.

Franchise tag according to OTC is projected to be 13.6M for this year, so it'll probably tick up a little higher next year. I think that's a little too rich for my liking anyways.

Let Cook walk in FA and then grab the comp pick for him.

 

[buffa dud]

I saw the name Jeffrey Simmons floating out there, and that's an idea I can get behind.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

I saw the name Jeffrey Simmons floating out there, and that's an idea I can get behind.

22.8M per, just sayin'