‘I wish we weren’t here’ – Bills GM Brandon Beane doesn’t hold back with ‘disappointing’ message on Cook’s contract situation
Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane wasted no time letting the world know where the two sides stand.
The Buffalo Bills have a situation on their hands, and his name is James Cook. If you were living under a rock or just had a nice, enjoyable, non-football weekend, you missed quite a bit in the last 24 hours.
The talented Bills RB is holding out at camp, fresh off his best season as a Buffalo Bill, which saw him surpass 1000 yards on the ground and add 18 total touchdowns (16 rushing, 2 receiving) for an awe-inspiring season.
With James Cook wanting a new contract, things are heating up. Brandon Beane spoke on The Jeremy and Joe Show on WGR 550 to discuss what’s going on behind closed doors, and he doesn’t sound happy. Now, Beane loves Cook and wants nothing more than for him to stay in Buffalo; he’s said it on more than one occasion.
During his interview with WGR 550, Beane’s comments quickly went viral about how the team is handling the current contract situation with their talented running back.
The hosts began, “Easy to start with here, James Cook yesterday shows up; street clothes. Says ‘Business’ when asked why he’s not taking part in practice. Was that a surprise to have that happen?” It was surely a surprise for me, if I am being honest.
Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane opens up on James Cook contract situation
“Yeah, it’s not something we were fully aware of until shortly before practice, and you know, I get it, I understand it’s the world we’re in, I guess, of how players want to respond to things like that.” That’s when Beane, once again, reminded the world of how he feels about the talented RB. “You know, I love James, and at the end of the day we want all our guys practicing.”
Speaking on the recent injuries and how Cook’s lack of involvement hurts, “We’ve got some guys out due to injuries or soft-tissue, stuff like that. So we’re trying to get as many guys on the practice field as we can and start preparing for this first preseason game. Hopefully, we’ll get him back out there soon, but it remains to be seen whether he’s going to show up today or not.”
The hosts continued, pushing the general manager on some of the national media storylines surrounding Cook, “When you spoke about him earlier at camp I think a lot of people kind of came away with the kind of tone that constant contact with you and his agent or your team and his agent and it felt to me like there has been a dialogue, and Tom Pelissero reports that is the case and there has not been a breakdown. In fact, he says that it’s not believed that things are too far apart with this.”
“Yeah, I mean, without getting into things. There’s been constant communication with his agent, either with myself, or Kevin Meganck, or with Jimbo (James Cook).” Meganck, if you aren’t aware, is the Vice President of Football Administration at the Buffalo Bills.
“That’s disappointing for me” – Brandon Beane on James Cook
Beane pushed forward, giving Bills Mafia an inside look at his personal feelings about the situation, “And so, you know, at the end of the day, I wish we weren’t here. This is my 9th season here, and we’ve never had a player miss due to a contract or anything like that, so that’s disappointing for me.”
Wasting no time, the general manager offered, “Not something we want, not something we’re looking forward to. But, at the end of the day, it’s, like I said earlier, sometimes can be the way of the world, so we’ll deal with it the best we can. Hopefully, I’d like to see Jimbo out there today, but I don’t know that answer at this point, this morning, whether that will happen or not. If it’s not today, hopefully tomorrow, we’ll keep trying, or the next day… Hopefully get him back out there soon.”
James Cook holdout continues
Brandon Beane didn’t have to wait long, as just hours after his interview, James Cook decided to hold out for practice. Not a shocking move, but a disappointing one nonetheless.
Here’s a totally unrelated video of Ray Davis being really good at football, in case you’re interested
If you’re wondering if this is going to be it for the James Cook drama, I may have some bad news for you if you were once again potentially living under a rock. The Buffalo Bills were selected to be part of Hard Knocks, which airs tomorrow and is sure to include some fiery bits about the Cook drama.
For now, we’ll just wait. If recent reports were any indication, it seems as though the 2 sides aren’t far off. However, it’s all just a guessing game at this point. Do you think the team should part ways with Cook? Or are you on the side of paying him whatever he likes?
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