Amidst a contract dispute with his team, Buffalo Bills running back James Cook showed up for work – but didn’t take part.
Cook took to the field on Saturday for pregame warmups – in full uniform – seemingly ready to compete in a preseason game against the New York Giants.
But after taking part in 11-on-11 drills in the warmups, Cook came out without his helmet on and did not take a single snap of action.
Bills coach Sean McDermott admitted that he wanted Cook to take part in the game, but the rusher didn’t relent – wearing a beanie on his head throughout the contest.
Cook – who is in the final year of his rookie deal – is trying to agree to a contract extension with the Bills and has taken drastic measures.
This includes Saturday’s demonstration – but he’s also passed on participating in the last four practices in the previous six days.
Buffalo Bills star James Cook arrived for warmups at a preseason game against the Giants and took part in drills. But when it game to the game itself, he came out without his helmet.
Cook didn’t play and has skipped practices amidst a contract dispute with the Bills
After putting up career touchdown numbers, Cook is in the final year of his rookie contract
After the game, McDermott told reporters that he spoke to Cook on Friday and described it as ‘a good conversation’. In that discussion, Cook agreed to warm-up with the team before the game but to not play.
‘We wanted him to play. I wanted him to play, but I don’t really want to go into it any further,’ McDermott said.
‘There is really no change at this point in time from what it was going into this weekend and the game today, so he warmed up, like I said, but at this point, due to the situation and position he’s in, he was not willing to play, so that’s where we’re at. Again, it was a good conversation, but really no change overall.’
While Cook didn’t comment to ESPN, the rusher’s agent – Zac Hiller – told the outlet, ‘I don’t know what else he can do to show he only wants to play for the Bills. Hopefully we can figure this out and refocus all energy on bringing a Super Bowl to Buffalo.’
Last season, Cook put up some of the best numbers in his career. His 1,009 yards on 207 carries included a career-best 16 touchdown rushes.
With the exception of quarterback Josh Allen and a few others dealing with injuries, a majority of the Bills’ starters participated in the preseason defeat in some capacity.
As a result, the Bills fell to the Giants after quarterbacks Jaxson Dart, Jameis Winston, and Tommy DeVito all completed touchdown passes to beat Buffalo 34-25.
