ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Almost the entire Buffalo Bills roster was accounted for as the team began voluntary organized team activities, but running back James Cook was not among those in attendance Tuesday.
The only other player on the roster who did not take to the field in some capacity was pass rusher Joey Bosa. Coach Sean McDermott gave updates on the pair in a news conference before the on-field session began.
Bosa “pulled a calf” and “more than likely” won’t participate again in the spring but should be ready for training camp, McDermott said. Bosa’s injury occurred while working with the team late last Thursday.
Cook is entering the final year of his rookie deal and seeking a contract extension after the Bills extended multiple members of the 2022 draft class, including linebacker Terrel Bernard, wide receiver Khalil Shakir and cornerback Christian Benford, this offseason.
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“Yeah, we’re staying in touch, like you’d expect a player and a coach to do,” McDermott said. “So, James will be here when he’s ready to be here and we move forward.”
The Bills will hold a mandatory minicamp June 10-12.
Cook, 25, is coming off his best year, finishing with a franchise-record-tying 16 rushing touchdowns after scoring two in each of his first two seasons. Cook has publicly shared his desire for a new contract, including going live on Instagram and pinning “15 mill [per] year.”
General manager Brandon Beane has reiterated that Cook will be ready to go for the season.
“We feel like we don’t have nothing to do with it and whatever is going on upstairs, it will handle itself,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “I do know that with the culture that goes on here is we take care of ours, and some processes are longer than others, and I’m not a GM. So, I wish that I had the answer, but I don’t, but I do know that Cook is a good kid, and he plays hard. And we know how Beane is, and we don’t know how Beane is, but he has a job, and he’ll figure it out. And hopefully we’ll be seeing our boy Cook soon.”
For Bosa, who was signed to a one-year deal this spring, injuries were a concern coming into his tenure with the Bills. The pass rusher, who will turn 30 in July, has dealt with multiple injuries in the past couple years. Over the past three seasons, he has played in 28 of 51 games.
“Listen, it is concerning,” McDermott said. “Durability, availability are key ties to our roster. And so, we basically look ahead in terms of what he’s doing now, which is getting himself the treatment that he needs and he’s working hard at it, and that’s all that he can control right now, and we get him back when we get him back, probably at this point [for] training camp. So, we’re going to do the best job we can, and I know he is as well, and just take it one day at a time.”
Included in the Bills’ almost 100% attendance was reigning league MVP quarterback Josh Allen, who fully participated Tuesday with his wedding to fiancée Hailee Steinfeld, an actress and musician, reportedly upcoming.
“I think it says everything [that Allen’s in attendance], right,” McDermott said. “He is the face of our organization. He’s the leader of our team. When he’s here, like anything else as a leader, it speaks and it holds a tremendous amount of weight, right? Like any leader, in particular the leader of the team, those words that he says, and his actions are exponentially impactful, right, to the whole roster, the whole team.”
