James Cook, Bills Reportedly Not 'That Far Apart' on New Contract amid Hold-In

It seems like Buffalo Bills running back James Cook's hold-in could end relatively soon with he and the team reportedly not that far away in discussions.

"From what I gather, I don't think the deal is actually that far apart," Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported Monday on her Scoop City podcast (29-minute mark). "… I don't think the gap is that big here. I just think this is applying a little pressure, let's get this done."

The situation made headlines Sunday when Cook repeated "business" when asked why he wasn't practicing:

General manager Brandon Beane indicated during an appearance on WGR 550 (h/t Kevin Patra of NFL.com) the team was surprised by the developments when he said, "Yeah, you know, it's not something we were fully aware of until shortly before practice. So, I get it, I understand it; it's the world we're in, I guess, of how players want to respond and things like that."

While it will remain a storyline until it gets resolved, there does seem to be some positive momentum toward a potential new deal.

"The sides have been engaged. From my understanding, they have not been that far apart through the course of the talks," NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported. "James Cook did show up and was fully participating in practice during training camp until today. … My understanding of where things stand here is, again, these sides have been in talks for a long time, they have not been that far off, but this is kind of like fourth-and-goal in the AFC Championship Game. Is James Cook going to get them across the goal line? Are the Bills going to be able to do their part to back it up?

"This is not a situation where the sides are completely breaking down. It does make some sense if James Cook has these contract negotiations hovering over his head, that it would make sense for everybody to not have him practicing when he's not necessarily locked in solely on football. We've seen injuries happen around the NFL."

Bobby Kownack of NFL.com noted Cook previously said he wanted a deal that paid him approximately $15 million a year, which is in the range of Baltimore Ravens star Derrick Henry.

Cook is entering the final season of his current contract, which is set to pay him $5.3 million in base salary. So he is looking for quite the raise, but it is easy to argue he is deserving of it given his recent production.

The Georgia product was a Pro Bowler with more than 1,000 rushing yards in each of the last two seasons. He is also just 25 years old and is fully living up to and even exceeding the expectations that were in place when he entered the league as a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

He ran for 1,009 yards and a league-best 16 touchdowns last season while also adding 32 catches for 258 yards and two scores as a dynamic part of the offense who takes some of the pressure off Josh Allen and the aerial attack.

Buffalo is on the short list of the most realistic Super Bowl contenders this season in large part because of the Allen-Cook backfield, so it will surely want to get the running back on the field ahead of the Sept. 7 opener against the Baltimore Ravens.

If it doesn't, it will likely need to rely on running backs Ray Davis and Ty Johnson.