Buffalo Bills cornerbacks Christian Benford (47) and Ja'Marcus Ingram (46) Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bills' defensive star surprised when learning of James Cook's new deal

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI | By Khari Demos | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 9:25 AM ET

Even as famous as Buffalo Bills' Christian Benford is, he is not always in the know about current events. Even if those current events are happening within his team.

James Cook made major headlines Wednesday, ending an offseason-long saga by agreeing to $48 million extension with the Bills. And although it was one of the biggest news topics in the NFL, Benford was completely out of the loop on the deal.

"Imma be honest, I don't really be on social media like that," said Benford to Buffalo reporters following Wednesday's practice in Orchard Park. "Unless it's for my nonprofit, 47 Hearts Foundation."

The Bills' media proceeded to fill the star cornerback in on the deal, which includes $30 million guaranteed.

"That's fire, congrats, big dog," Benford said. "I'm proud, I'm happy for him, he stuck it out. I thank the Lord he got something that he's happy with. So I'm blessed and honored for him. He's a great kid, hard worker."

Christian Benford honestly did not know about the new James Cook contract when he talked with media after practice.

You can see his real time reaction to the news here.
(And he nicely slides in a promo for his foundation)

"That's fire."#Bills pic.twitter.com/BAo1fuWJnv
— Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) August 13, 2025

It's a uniquely funny statement on several fronts. First off, Benford must have missed the fact that Cook was on the practice field the last two days after citing "business" as the reason why he withheld himself from practicing last week.

Also, did he not talk to any of his teammates in the locker room about it before, during or after practice?

Lastly, the fact that Benford is so far out of the loop is fairly comical. Benford was right in his assessment of his social media usage. Of the last five posts on his Instagram page, two of them have been about his 47 Hearts Foundation. He may not have seen the Cook news breaking either because he does not have an X account.

Again, it's funny to see how out of the loop a multi-million dollar athlete can be. But it is great to see that Benford was excited for his teammate.