Buffalo Bills, running back James Cook agree to 4-year, $48M extension
Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The Buffalo Bills agreed to a four-year, $48 million contract extension with James Cook, the Pro Bowl running back confirmed Wednesday on social media.
The pact includes $30 million guaranteed, the most paid to a running back in the last five years. Cook, 25, was entering the final year of his rookie contract.
The fourth-year running back totaled a career-high 1,567 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns over 17 games in 2023. He totaled 1,267 yards from scrimmage and scored 18 times, including a league-high and franchise record-tying 16 rushing touchdowns, over 16 starts in 2024.
Cook was in full uniform and a full participant in practice Tuesday, ending a four-day hold-in. He also missed the Bills' first preseason game.
The Bills will participate in a joint practice with the Chicago Bears on Friday in Chicago, and the Bears will host the Bills in their second preseason game at 8 p.m. EDT Sunday in Chicago. They will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their preseason finale Aug. 23 in Tampa, Fla.
Cook and the Bills will host the Baltimore Ravens in their regular season opener Sept. 7 in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
a few seconds ago
- USA Today
6 takeaways from Day 2 of Patriots-Vikings joint practices
The New England Patriots concluded their second day of joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, having been given a real test this week. Both the Vikings' offense and defense provided challenges for the Patriots, and as expected, things went well, while the team struggled in other areas. So, here are the key takeaways from the second day of joint practice with the Vikings: *Information in this piece provided by the Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed, NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry, and MassLive's Mark Daniels 1. Mike Vrabel Jumps in the Middle of a Fight... Again During a scuffle between the Patriots and the Washington Commanders in last week's joint practice, head coach Mike Vrabel jumped in to try and break it up, but ended up on the bottom and even came up with a streak of blood on his face. And on Thursday, he jumped right in again between New England and the Vikings, and once again ended up on the bottom of the pile. Oh, and not to mention it was Vrabel's 50th birthday. With that, he told reporters there is only one kind of cake he wants. 'There's one answer, it's carrot cake,' Vrabel said. 'There's one answer. There's no hemming and hawing.' 2. Another Rough Day for Will Campbell Will Campbell certainly had his hands full during joint practices, and Thursday was no different. The rookie left tackle was battling Pro Bowl edge rusher Jonathan Greenard and gave up two sacks during team drills. 3. Ben Brown Makes The Move to Left Guard After having some struggles during the first day, Jared Wilson didn't take part in the second day despite being present in pads. He was even photographed leaving the field early. In his absence, Ben Brown filled in at left guard, continuing to work with the top unit. 4. Drake Maye to Kayshon Boutte Hail Mary Drake Maye has been having some success in the two-minute periods to end practice on both days of joint practice. One day after hitting TreVeyon Henderson on a wheel route, with the rookie running back taking it for a 70-yard touchdown, Maye connected with Kayshon Boutte on a Hail Mary. This came after Maye was sacked twice, which forced a fourth-down situation. But, he sent the ball deep for Boutte, and the receiver didn't disappoint. 5. J.J. McCarthy vs. The Patriots Defense J.J. McCarthy took advantage of the Patriots' missing Christian Gonzalez, giving the cornerbacks a lot of trouble. Despite nice pressure from New England's defensive line, McCarthy was able to make plays and connect with his receivers, including nice plays to T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison. 6. Attendance Not participating: CB Christian Gonzalez, WR Ja'Lynn Polk, LB Marte Mapu, RB Terrell Jennings, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, LB Jahlani Tavai, WR Kendrick Bourne, TE Hunter Henry Returned: TE Hunter Henry, ED Elijah Ponder Limited: S Jabrill Peppers, CB D.J. James Left Early: OL Jared Wilson What's Next? The Patriots will face off against the Vikings in their second preseason game on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET at U.S. Bank Stadium. Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell announced that J.J. McCarthy will not play, and Sam Howell will start instead. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
USA Today
30 minutes ago
- USA Today
Vikings LB dominates Will Campbell, gives thoughts on Patriots rookie
New England Patriots rookie offensive tackle Will Campbell got his "welcome to the NFL moment" at Thursday's joint practice with the Minnesota Vikings. It came at the hands of Vikings Pro Bowl linebacker Jonathan Greenard, who bedeviled the first-year offensive lineman during the competitive team periods. Campbell gave up two sacks, one pressure and potentially a false start penalty. It has mostly been a mixed bag from the fourth overall pick of the 2025 NFL draft in training camp. However, Greenard believes it comes with the territory of being a rookie left tackle in the NFL. 'He's gonna be a good tackle. I think just with repetition and reps, it's gonna be really good,' Greenard told Boston Herald's Doug Kyed. 'He has some really good coaches over there. He's got some good talent over there to go against, obviously, just keep getting better. "But a guy like that needs reps, and that's all it is. It's a matter of just getting a feel, learning how to block in this league, learn how to protect yourself, learn how to protect with the chip, learn how to protect where your quarterback is and stuff like that." The Patriots knew patience would likely factor into the equation when it came to Campbell's development, but there was also the unspoken hope that he'd be great as soon as his cleats touched grass. It's no surprise considering he will be entrusted with protecting second-year quarterback Drake Maye's blindside. A mistake in a joint practice session isn't that big of a deal, but a mistake in a live game could have dire consequences. It's too early for the Patriots to hit the panic button, but there should be real concern with four-time Pro Bowl edge defender Maxx Crosby and former Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt being among the first three opponents Campbell will face this season. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Are managers sleeping on Evan Engram in fantasy drafts?
Yahoo Fantasy analyst Matt Harmon is joined by NFL analyst Nate Tice to discuss how the 2-time Pro Bowl tight end could quietly return fantasy value in Denver's offense led by quarterback Bo Nix. Hear the full conversation on the 'Yahoo Fantasy Forecast' podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. View more Video Transcript What value am I getting for drafting these guys? Yeah, okay, I checked the box. They feel like you're just checking the box. The one guy would say, and again, it's not a knock. Some of these guys will have nice, good, solid value and finish up and all that, but it's, um, is Evan Ingram because of the we're just talking about maybe there's more upside to the flow of the offense. Bo Nix's play style, like he targets his backs and tight ends because he's that touched down the checkdown. That's how I'm figuring out how to describe him now, his touchdown, the checkdown type of player. So, where the tight ends work. You just mentioned this when we're talking about why tight ends are just like, how it's hard to find guys because of where they are in the concepts. They're underneath. The running backs with RJ Harvey and the tight ends with Evan Ingram. He's more of a horizontal guy than a vertical guy. So that's where I think Ingram is best used, and I think that actually matches Bo Nix pretty well, like how he likes to play, um choice routes as well. That's what Sean Payton likes to call. So I actually really like that fit, and he's one guy kind of in this range, and he's you know, at the bottom of the Yahoo tier right here, um, what was his ADP, 87th, like that's the one guy where I think I'd probably have a little bit higher in this tier because there's just a little bit more there that you could scrap it and find. Well, I think you can certainly squint at it and see, oh, this is a guy that could be the second most targeted guy on his team. Um, like, no question, Bix, by the way, 11.6%, checkdown rate that was third according to fantasy points data among guys who played 10+ games last year. So I mean, that tight end could easily be that checkdown player. So could RJ Harvey. I'm not saying this is like a fun, like, oh yeah, like a fun way to get points. It's a dirty way to get points, but it's like, oh no, but if you want to get some cheapies, like, I think Evan Ingram's gonna be a cheapie tight end this year, like where you just get all these dirty points, in two-minute situations and on third downs and you're like, man, he finished with 8 catches for 51 yards. You know, like a lot of those kind of games, like a lot of high catches, low yard type of games. I kind of like what he's done in the past. But yeah, Ingraham, I just feel like there's some, there is some value there just because of the flow of the offense. Close
