Last season, Josh Allen and the Bills were 13-4 and easily won in AFC East. Buffalo was the second seed in the AFC playoffs and ran for the conference championship.
Unfortunately, Buffalo bumped into Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City chief Buzzsaw. The 2024 season was a career-high year for Bills RB James Cook. His 16 rushing touchdowns led the NFL. With its production, Cook is seeking an extension of his contract from Buffalo. He reports to the bill’s training camp, but it is unclear how much he will be involved in field activities. Ian Rapoport called Cook a “potential hold-in candidate.”
James Cook is eligible for an extension of his contract with the bill
Invoice RB James Cook reports to training camp during his contract talk. @tompelisserohttps://t.co/1dl7ssjdwm pic.twitter.com/cyeswinxya
-NFL Around (@AroundThenfl) July 22, 2025
On the second pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Bills selected RB James Cook from Georgia. As a rookie, Cook played 16 of his 17 games, but he had limited playing time. During the sophomore campaign in 2023, Cook played in all 17 games and made 13 starts at Buffalo. He carried the ball to a career high 237 times for 1,122 yards. Additionally, he received 44 catches for 445 yards and four touchdowns.
In 2024, Cook carried the ball 207 times with 1,009 rushing yards and 16 league-leading rushing touchdowns. He began 16 of the 17 games of the bill. Cook added 32 catches and two touchdowns for 258 yards. The 25-year-old was also selected for two consecutive Pro Bowls. In 2025, Cook is expected to make $5.3 million.
Bills’ RB James Cook is expected to report to camp, but it is not clear how involved he is when searching for an extension. He could be considered a “hold-in” candidate. #nfl #bilsmafia #building #jamescook pic.twitter.com/bowydeepkv
– Tanner Phifer (@tannerphifer) July 22, 2025
The young RB knows it’s worth more than $5 million per season. Additionally, the NFL RBS usually gets one, and perhaps two long-term contracts. James Cook wants to sign an extension with Buffalo now to cash out his production from the 2024 season. Only seven RBs in the NFL have an annual average of over $10 million.
These include Saquon Berkley, Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor, Alvin Kamara, Josh Jacobs and Aaron Jones. After two solid production seasons for Buffalo, did Cook do enough to make more than $10 million per season with his new contract? There’s still time for Bills and Cook agents to do business this offseason. The training camp began on Tuesday, July 22nd. Cook will be present, but it is unclear how much he will be on the field. NFL Insider predicts that Cook will be a Buffalo’s hold-in candidate.
