The biggest question hovering over the Buffalo Bills as they take part in training camp in preparation for the upcoming 2025 NFL season is the contract status of James Cook. Cook has been holding out of practice recently as he hopes for an extension from the franchise, one that the Bills have thus far been reluctant to provide.
Recently, former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky provided a ringing endorsement of Cook’s value to the Bills during an appearance on NFL Live.
“James Cook is the second-most important player on this offense,” claimed Orlovsky, per NFL on ESPN on X, formerly Twitter.
Number one in that department would of course be quarterback Josh Allen, who won the league MVP award for his efforts during this past 2024-25 season. While Allen may be the engine that makes the Bills’ offense go, Cook is certainly a key cog in the machine, establishing himself as one of the league’s best and most versatile running backs over the last few years.
A murky situation for the Bills
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Bills fans would certainly prefer their team get something worked out with James Cook sooner rather than later. Cook put his value on full display during the AFC Championship Game last year vs the Kansas City Chiefs, when he scored on a fourth and goal in the second half to help keep Buffalo attached.
Unfortunately, the Bills still weren’t able to get past the Chiefs-sized roadblock, ultimately losing that game in heartbreaking fashion down the stretch of the fourth quarter and pushing their playoff record vs Kansas City to 0-4 in the Josh Allen-Patrick Mahomes era.
This offseason, the Bills have made strides to address some of their shortcomings, including adding veteran star pass rusher Joey Bosa to their defensive line. If Bosa can stay somewhat healthy, he may end up being one of the biggest steals of this past free agency period.
In any case, the Bills are slated to kick off their 2025 season at home against the Baltimore Ravens in a rematch of last year’s AFC divisional round game on September 7 in prime time.
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