Buffalo Bills running back James Cook has signed a four-year contract extension, keeping him with the team through the 2029 season. The deal was finalized on Wednesday, as both sides expressed a desire for Cook to remain in Buffalo.
“It’s a great organization,” James Cook said earlier this offseason about his decision to stay. “They drafted me. They drafted me for a reason, I feel like. And I’m willing to be here and spend my career here.”
General manager Brandon Beane also commented on the team’s approach to retaining talent: “As I’ve said all along, I love James Cook. I want nothing more. You know how I am. I want to draft, develop, re-sign our own.”
Cook is now the fourth player from Buffalo’s 2022 draft class to sign an extension, joining Christian Benford, Khalil Shakir, and Terrel Bernard.
Beane highlighted Cook’s continued development after the signing: “We’re excited with where he’s at, and he’s still a young talent,” Beane said Wednesday shortly after Cook signed. “And as we’ve said in here, don’t think he’s been overtaxed, or a guy that his the tread on his tires is getting worn by any means.”
In 2024, Cook played a significant role in Buffalo’s offense by scoring 108 points last season and tying for the league lead with 16 rushing touchdowns—matching O.J. Simpson’s franchise record set in 1975. He finished last year with 207 carries for 1,009 rushing yards and added two receiving touchdowns among his 32 catches for 258 yards.
Cook’s postseason performance included rushing for 272 yards and three touchdowns over three games. His production has increased each season since joining the Bills; he recorded 507 rushing yards in his rookie year (2022), followed by 1,122 yards in 2023 and then reached double-digit touchdowns in 2024.
Over three seasons with Buffalo, Cook has totaled 533 carries for 2,638 rushing yards (averaging nearly five yards per carry) and scored twenty rushing touchdowns across forty-nine games and twenty-nine starts. He has also contributed as a receiver out of the backfield with ninety-seven catches for eight hundred eighty-three receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns.
Cook was selected by Buffalo in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft after playing college football at Georgia.
