Jun 11, 2025; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) during Minicamp at Highmark Stadium. Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Super Bowl door ajar, Bills must pay James Cook

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Richie Whitt | Last updated Aug 5, 2025 4:34 PM ET

As a born-and-bred fan of the Dallas Cowboys — this isn't one those posts filled with gloating, promise — the Buffalo Bills have to do whatever it takes to sign, keep and play running back James Cook.

Come hell, high water or Hail Mary, make Cook happy.

Why? Because the other night I stumbled upon the 2015 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Four Falls of Buffalo. And I, like a lot of otherwise loyal fans who rabidly root for their own team, low-key would love to see Bills Mafia finally rewarded with a Super Bowl win.

Patrick Mahomes notwithstanding, the door for the Bills to win their first championship is ajar. But who knows for how long? The era of a team playing in four consecutive Super Bowls — like the Bills in the mid-1990s — is likely gone.

In today's NFL, you gotta strike while the iron is hot. And in Buffalo it's scalding.

Quarterback Josh Allen is the reigning MVP and, at 29, in his prime. The Bills have offensive playmakers across the field in receivers Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer and Keon Coleman, and tight end Dalton Kincaid. On defense, Matt Milano is back and they signed Joey Bosa to rush the passer and draft first-round rookie Maxwell Hairston to defend passes.

Enter Cook, a vital piece of the puzzle.

Only 25, he's already made two Pro Bowls and established himself as one of the most productive, durable running backs in the league. He's played 48 of 49 games since being drafted in 2022. He led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns last season, and over the last two years accounted for 2,834 yards on 444 carries and 76 catches, and 24 scores.

No offense to second-year runner Ray Davis, but you confident in him putting up those numbers? Cook is Thurman Thomas 2.0. Lose him, and there's a hole in Buffalo's hull that might sink the entire ship.

Cook is staging a "hold-in" at training camp, demanding a new contract to pay him alongside the league's backs. His reason for not practicing? "Business."

The Bills have Cook under contract, but he has them over a barrel. Pay him now, or regret it later. And maybe forever.

The last five seasons the Bills with the nucleus of Allen and head coach Sean McDermott are a staggering 61-22 with seven playoff wins. Their most recent "Four Falls": to the Kansas City Chiefs. Without Cook, all that success may me much ado about nothing.

Do it for Allen. Do it for Bosa. Do it for Bills Mafia. Do it, for crying out loud, for 100-year-old Marv Levy.