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One of the biggest offseason storylines to watch for the Buffalo Bills has been the status of running back James Cook, which remains up in the air.
Cook is entering the final year of his deal in 2025 and is, of course, looking for a lucrative extension. However, the Bills could be hesitant to hand out a big-money deal to a running back considering their financial constraints.
If things stay on the course they're currently on, Cook may not be back in 2026, which will leave Buffalo searching for a replacement.
In a recent mock draft from Pro Football and Sports Network's Jacob Infante, he has the Bills addressing the running back position by taking Oklahoma's Jaydn Ott in the third round.
After three years at Cal, Ott entered the transfer portal in 2025 and is now set to play out his senior season at Oklahoma.
Ott exploded for 1,315 yards and 12 scores in 2023 at California but saw a huge drop-off in his production during the 2024 campaign as he battled an ankle injury.
Overall, Ott has posted 2,597 rushing yards, 736 receiving yards and 30 total touchdowns over three years, showing he can also contribute as a pass-catcher.
The 5-foot-10, 205-pound back has all the makings of being a difference-maker at the next level. He has elite speed and is an explosive ball-carrier capable of taking it to the house from anywhere on the field, traits that would make him an ideal replacement for Cook.
"Overall, Ott is a dynamic playmaker with immense production and experience as a lead ball-carrier. Speed and explosion remain his elite traits, and teams in need of a playmaker at the position are expected to prioritize Ott early in the 2025 NFL Draft," The Draft Network's Ryan Fowler wrote.
If the Bills are intent on getting their financial house in order after 2025, letting Cook walk is a possibility. And, if that happens, the Bills will surely be in the running back market in next year's draft.
More must-reads:
- Details emerge on injury to Cowboys star wide receiver
- Are Giants making quarterback change for Chargers game?
- The 'Multiple 30-TD pass NFL seasons' quiz
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Micah Parsons has savage response to Packers' loss to Browns
The Green Bay Packers are reeling after they blew a 10-0 lead at the start of the fourth quarter on Sunday. The Packers allowed the Cleveland Browns to score 13 unanswered points to win 13-10 in front of 65,470 fans at Huntington Bank Field. Following the game, defensive end Micah Parsons had a crude response to the comeback. "Sometimes, just like today, you s--- the bed," Parsons said via ESPN. "That's just the reality of it. It happens to the best teams. Even the best Super Bowl champs make mistakes, and they pay for it early. You go back to the history of the champions and who've they've played and games they should've won. It's just that competitive. "It's that hard to win. It's hard as hell to win football games. When you win football games, it's a celebration. But when you lose, it sucks." What went wrong for the Packers in loss to Browns Parsons and the Packers had a couple of major blunders in the final minute that they want back. Green Bay kicker Brandon McManus had a blocked field goal attempt that allowed the Browns a chance to get in range for a game-winning field goal. Parsons was called for a neutral zone infraction on the first play of the Browns' drive, allowing Cleveland to start the series from the Green Bay 48-yard line with 21 seconds remaining. Parsons apologized for the penalty, calling it "unacceptable." The All-Pro finished with two tackles. Parsons has extra motivation for avenging the loss against the Browns. The Packers are set to travel to play his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 4.
Steelers' Once Promising Third-Year Defender Could Be Relegated On The Depth Chart
The Pittsburgh Steelers have begun the 2025 NFL season with a 2-1 record, however there are some things that need to be figured out. The defense is shaky at best despite forcing five turnovers in Sunday's win over the New England Patriots in Week 3. The group still struggles to get off of the field on possession downs, and stopping the run has been an issue throughout the first three weeks of the season. A lot of that starts with the front seven and the interior defensive line. Pittsburgh has been banged up in that area, but some healthy contributors returning could shake up the lineup. Pittsburgh was able to see the regular season debut of Derrick Harmon on Sunday. The organization selected Harmon in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but he suffered a sprained MCL in the preseason finale which kept him on the sidelines throughout the first two weeks of the regular season. He made an impact while serving in a limited role on Sunday against New England as he recorded a sack and two total tackles, and he is expected to help the run defense in the near future. Team insider Mark Kaboly spoke about the interior defensive line after the game on Sunday on the most recent episode of Kaboly + Mack, and he believes there will be two rookies starting in that area very soon. "They made some moves there, and it was able to help them out," Kaboly said. "That's a definite difference in what they were able to do. And I think it's just a matter of time until Yahya Black, Derrick Harmon and Cam Heyward's your one, two and three across the front. It's just a matter of time." Currently, Cam Heyward and Yahya Black are the starting defensive tackles for Pittsburgh while Keeanu Benton has been the starting nose tackle. That is the part of the lineup that will be shuffled, as Benton will likely switch to being a rotational piece, while Harmon enters the starting lineup. He will likely takeover the duties at defensive tackle, while Black shuffles to nose tackle. Benton was expected to take a leap forward going into his second season in 2024, but that didn't necessarily happen. He has made some big plays for Pittsburgh, but he has not been the consistent force that the organization had hoped he would be to this point. There was hope he would improve once again during the 2025 season, but if anything, the third-year pro has shown some regression since his rookie season. Moving to a rotational role where he can fill in at both defensive tackle and nose tackle might be best for Benton at this point. He doesn't necessarily have the size to be a true nose tackle in the NFL, so the coaching staff in Pittsburgh has seemingly been setting him up for failure a little bit in that regard. He would likely play better at defensive tackle, which is something the coaching staff could find out if the starting defensive line gets shuffled. Steelers Need To See Keeanu Benton Step Up No matter what role he is serving, Benton needs to play better moving forward. The interior defensive line is a key part of stopping the run, and Pittsburgh has struggled to do that. It is going to be hard to win meaningful games if that problem persists, especially against the better teams in the NFL that show up on the schedule later in the year. Benton needs to show some signs of progression, whether that be as a starter, or as someone who rotates in with the starting lineup throughout a game. Benton can still have a future in Pittsburgh, but he is going to need to improve in 2025 while setting himself up for success in 2026.
Brewers announce pitcher who will take Brandon Woodruff’s turn through the rotation
Over the weekend, the Milwaukee Brewers announced devastating news that Brandon Woodruff was being placed on the injured list with a lat strain. He first felt the discomfort during a bullpen over the weekend, the strain has been labeled moderate, and there is not much optimism that he will be ready for the playoffs. With just a week remaining in the regular season and the NLDS set to begin on October 4, the long-term focus for Woodruff is clearly his postseason availability. In the short term, however, the Brewers had a more immediate challenge: finding someone to step into his spot in the rotation. Milwaukee Brewers announce which pitcher will take Brandon Woodruff’s turn through the rotation On Saturday, the Brewers designated Joel Payamps for assignment and selected the contract of Bruce Zimmermann. The 30 year hasn’t made a big league appearance since 2023, but in a twist of fate he is now slated to start Tuesday against the San Diego Padres, which originally was Woodruff’s day to pitch; As Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reported, Zimmermann was told straight up that he was coming up for one day with the Brewers. However, with Woodruff being diagnosed with a lat strain that same day, plans changed, and he now will start at least one game for Milwaukee. Notably, with Zimmermann scheduled to pitch on Tuesday, he lines up to start the Brewers’ final regular season game against the Reds. Even if he doesn’t get the start, he’ll be available to pitch, giving Milwaukee the option to use him for bulk innings without risking another last-minute injury to one of their key arms heading into the playoffs. Zimmermann brings some experience to the table, with 27 career big-league starts under his belt. As a starter, he had a 4.11 ERA in Triple-A this season. While his role may seem minor in the shadow of the Woodruff injury, his performance could still play a meaningful part in helping the Brewers secure the best record in baseball, which would guarantee them home field advantage throughout the playoffs. He also could have a hand in whether or not Cincinnati makes the post season or not.
Pete Carroll opens up about an idea that everyone has regarding the biggest issue with the team's offense
The worst part about the Las Vegas Raiders offense has to be the offensive line, a position group that the Raiders didn't address really at all outside of the 2025 NFL Draft, and even those two draft picks aren't seeing the field. The offensive line hasn't been great at pass blocking for former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, but that isn't the worst part of the unit's game. They can't run block at all, which is why Ashton Jeanty isn't having much success. And that could be due to the changes the Raiders staff made to the offensive line. The right guys aren't playing. "We want to see JPJ [Jackson Powers-Johnson] come back to action and get back involved. In all phases of it, we have to get off the football better and make more of the running game. There's not enough happening there to act on the play pass game, and we're just not getting enough. So, we just got to keep working it. We got the guys we got, and we need to keep developing and keep building on it. We're working at the right guard spot. Our young guys, they'll get their turn sometime, but they're not ready yet. So, we have what we have, and we've got to make our guys do better, and we've got to fit it together better than we have." The Raiders' offensive line has much deeper issues at hand JPJ didn't start the game against the Washington Commanders this last week, despite being healthy and recovered from his concussion. Carroll noted that the decision between him and Cappa came down to the continuity and that the Raiders were on a short week. But Cappa is not very good. The former Cincinnati Bengals guard led the league in blown blocks with 40 and led the league in pressures allowed last season. Last year, Jackson Powers-Johnson was one of the best young centers in the league. He had his rookie moments, but by the end of the season, he had some moments where he was pancaking defenders in the second level on run plays. His move to center last season is when he really started to take over, rather than when he was playing guard. This offseason, the Raiders decided to not only move him away from the center position but to put him in a position battle at the guard spot. JPJ may be the second-best offensive lineman on the team, and yet, the Raiders have something weird going on with him. Yes, he was hurt, but he recovered, and there is no reason why he shouldn't have started. By the end of last season, the Raiders' offensive line really started to put things together. So, why would Pete Carroll's son, Brennan Carroll, mess all of that up as the offensive line coach? Something's going on with the offensive line, and it's truly affecting the entire offense. Yes, the unit isn't very good, but they are making it even harder on themselves by playing the wrong players. When your defense is bad, offense is bad, and special teams are bad, it's hard to beat anyone. Add that into the fact that the offensive line is atrocious and winning football games looks impossible, despite the fact they've already won one against the New England Patriots. window.addEventListener('message', function (event) {if (event.data.totalpoll event.data.totalpoll.action === 'resizeHeight') {document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-365').height = event.data.totalpoll.value;}}, false);document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-365').contentWindow.postMessage({totalpoll: {action: 'requestHeight'}}, '*');
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