Cook and the Bills have not seen eye-to-eye on a contract extension this offseason, with Cook wanting $15 million a year and the Bills being reticent to commit that much. Buscaglia guesses that “as much as the Bills need Cook in 2025, they likely have the leverage in this situation.” He also speculates that Cook could be transition tagged in the 2026 offseason. We haven’t seen any reason to believe that Cook will sit out real games to seek an extension, but it probably shouldn’t be a surprise if he’s not at voluntary workouts.

Rapoport acknowledged that things are “not great” between Cook and the Bills after general manager Brandon Beane said in late March that he didn’t foresee the two sides “getting something done anytime soon” on a contract extension for Cook, entering his fourth NFL season. Cook, who has back-to-back 1,000 yard rushing seasons and totaled 18 touchdowns in 2024, reportedly put his Buffalo home up for sale after Beane’s comments. Cook in a social media post requested $15 million per year in a new deal with Buffalo, a steep price for a solid-but-not-spectacular back. Cook’s contract disagreement will likely linger into the summer and could affect his training camp participation if progress is not made in the coming months. Ray Davis would be positioned to see extra run if Cook falls out of favor with the Bills.

Beane adds that signing Cook to a new deal “before he’s a free agent” in 2026 is still possible, but it sounds like contract talks have officially been tabled for now. Cook and his camp previously attempted to negotiate through public means, including a social media post in which Cook requested $15 million per year.

On Thursday Cook publicly posted “15 mill year” on an Instagram live feed, and Buscaglia summarizes that as the “current public demand.” The Bills haven’t issued a long-term contract to a running back in the Brandon Beane era, and haven’t used Cook like a true franchise back. Cook logged just 48 percent of the team’s snaps last year and has yet to crack 55 percent in any of his first three seasons. When you stack it all up like that, it looks a lot more likely that Cook will hit free agency than it does that there will be extension discussions at any point this offseason.