Bills RB James Cook should pull a Chris Jones move to gain contract leverage, says NFL insider

James Cook was selected in the second round, No. 63 overall by the Buffalo Bills in the 2022 NFL Draft. Although it took some time for the running back to put it all together at the professional level, Cook has become a star in the league and one of the best RB's in all of football over the past two seasons.

In 2025, Cook is entering the final year of a four year rookie contract he signed in 2022. As a result, he has made clear that he wants to get a new deal figured out and signed as soon as possible.

With training camp quickly approaching, NFL analyst Josina Anderson provided a detailed report of Cook's current situation on X on Wednesday. Anderson highlighted how Cook has performed exceptionally well as of late, yet does not have leverage with the Bills.

"#Bills RB James Cook has a very interesting decision to make, if contract talks continue to loom when the team reports to camp next week...Where should a younger back like Cook sit contractually... after back-to-back years of 1000+ yards and a career-high 16 rushing touchdowns last season? Outside of the risk of angering Cook & disrupting team tapestry... the honest truth is the leverage is not on Cook’s side when you analyze the full-length path of this train."

Anderson then continued by outlining how "being willing to miss games" may be a way for Cook to add some leverage of his own.

"The only way to mitigate the team’s leverage, is by being willing to miss games. A recent example that comes to mind... Chris Jones in 2023 missing the season opener... Moreover, we can have a good debate about how effective hold-ins have been relative to changing present offers; and one can also debate that an athlete’s injury risk actually grows the more acclimation time the athlete misses." Anderson said.

What is James Cook's current market value?

Cook has been on record detailing his desire to earn $15 million per season in his next deal.

However, 'Spotrac' believes that Cook's next contract should fall well short of that average annual value. The sports financial company currently projects Cook's market value to be a four year deal worth $40,838,096, something that would have an average annual value of approximately $10.2 million per season.

As a result, Cook appears to have a different valuation of himself than the Bills and Spotrac do heading into the 2025 season. This story will clearly remain one to watch this offseason and into the new year.