The Bills want James Cook for the long haul, but there’s a problem

The Buffalo Bills they aren’t thinking about the offseason yet and hope those issues won’t have to be addressed anytime soon. The The Bills look to extend their season on Sunday with a Divisional Round win against the Baltimore Ravens in front of their home fans in Buffalo.

Whenever the season ends for the Bills, they have a lot of work to do to keep this core of players together that led them to the No. 2 seed in the AFC. One of those breakout stars is back James Cookwho finished the regular season with 1,009 rushing yards, 258 receiving yards and 18 total touchdowns.

Cook is up for an extension this offseason and the Bills understandably want to keep him, but they’ll have something difficult decisions to be made according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.

“(James Cook) certainly set himself up for a nice payday,” Rapoport said. “He’s eligible for an extension this year and I understand he’s a big part of the future of the law.” The question, however, is that after a transition year for the Bills, picking up all that dead money, are they willing to pay some young stars. Josh Allen could get a new contract, adjust there. Terrell Bernard, Connor McGovern, Christian Benford, Greg Rousseau, there’s a long line of really talented young Bills players waiting to be paid.”

James Cook was a big key to the Bills’ success

While they have a lot of key young players to cash in this offseason and in the years to come, the Bills should do everything in their power to keep James Cook improving.

Cook’s powerful running style and ability to get tough yards between tackles have been a key part of Buffalo’s success on offense this season. Josh Allen is rightfully stealing the headlines with his heroic plays and great stats, but Cook represents the meat and potatoes of the offense. The Bills have quietly been one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL this season, and Cook has been at the center of that.

Cook has also gotten much better as a runner over the years. He didn’t come into the NFL with this level of strength or reliability between the tackles, but he’s developed it over the years. It’s reasonable to assume that Cook can still improve, making him worthy of a new contract.

If the Bills can’t bring Cook back, their running game would likely take a step back and convert the offense back to an Allen-centric unit that they tried to escape from this season. For all of these reasons, taking care of Cook should be near the top of the list of priorities for the Bills this offseason.