ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills running back James Cook is not present for the first week of phase one of the team’s voluntary offseason workouts that began Monday, per general manager Brandon Beane.
Cook is entering the final year of his rookie deal, but Beane cautioned on assuming that his absence is due to his contract situation.
“It’s voluntary. So, guys come and go. Guys have things going on. Try not to look too far into it,” Beane said on Tuesday. “We could all assume he’s not here because he’s unhappy with his contract or whatever, but that’s not fair. He hasn’t told me that. No one’s told me that he said that, but I think that’s kind of unfair to say he’s not here because of that. It doesn’t mean he’s not here next week or the week after. He’ll be ready to go, though.”
Three members of Cook’s 2022 draft class — wide receiver Khalil Shakir, linebacker Terrel Bernard and cornerback Christian Benford — received four-year contract extensions this offseason, as part of a wave of Bills players signed to the team long-term since the end of the season.
Cook, 25, is coming off his best year, finishing with a franchise record-tying 16 rushing touchdowns after not scoring two in each of his first two seasons. Cook has publicly shared his desire for a new contract, including going live on Instagram and pinning “15 mill [per] year.”
Quarterback Josh Allen — who received a six-year contract extension this offseason — was one of many Bills players in attendance for the workouts and said that he thinks players in the locker room understand the business side of things.
“I’m not the GM, not the head coach, and now I know I feel like I have to wear a few different hats among the locker room, but that’s not one of them,” Allen said. “I just try to make sure that I’m focusing on what I can control and making sure that the guys that are here are getting the work done, and I know James is working out and getting the work done there too. And hopefully that gets figured out, but it’ll get figured out when it gets figured out.”
Beane said that there are no changes to Cook’s situation on Tuesday after he shared with reporters at the league meetings last month that he didn’t “see us doing any deals anytime soon” with the focused instead on Thursday’s NFL draft and planning for the 53-man roster.
“Love James. Look forward to James putting on our helmet again this year and doing well for us,” Beane said. “And I know he plans that. James is a competitive dude and look forward to that. That’s really probably where we’re at. Is he here, like, offseason program? No, not this week. But, yeah, I can’t tell you when he’s definitely coming or not, but not yet.”
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