As the league's top rusher enters a massive new deal, speculation grows that Buffalo’s star playmaker could leverage postseason availability to secure an even richer extension.
Over the last couple of weeks, some of the NFL's top running backs have signed large extensions with their current teams. One player who didn't sign one this year is 2025's leading rusher and Buffalo Bills starting running back James Cook.
Cook is entering his fifth year in the league since being a second-round pick out of Georgia in 2022. He's also entering the first year of a four-year, $46 million contract he signed before the start of the 2025 season.
And while he hasn't made any public comment about his contract or wanting to renegotiate it, one report suggests that it's only a matter of time until it happens.
In an article on the matter on ProFootballTalk, Mike Florio believes that Cook "will make it known after the 2026 season that he wants a new deal."
He continues to say that if 2027 is the target for a renegotiated contract this season could "get interesting".
Florio broaches the idea of Cook choosing to hold out in the playoffs, where paychecks are lower, to "protect himself" ahead of negotiations. That would mean, should he be banged up by the end of the year, he would take extra precautions with his injuries.
"It’s one thing to show up for training camp and cite an injury to avoid practicing until the contract is enhanced. It’s quite another to point to a legitimate injury through which the player is playing when the regular-season salary shifts to the far less lucrative postseason game checks," he writes.
Of course, all of this is purely speculation at this point. Cook has not given any indication that he was unhappy with his contract or that he'd go to any extreme measures to secure a new contract. After all, he's yet to play a single snap under the new deal that pays him $11.5 million per year.
In four years, Cook has rushed for 4,259 yards and 32 touchdowns while adding 1,174 yards and nine touchdowns as a receiver. Last season, he finished as the NFL's leading rusher with 1,621 yards, averaging 95.4 yards per game, and has continued to earn praise around the league.
