Bills OC Ken Dorsey called RB James Cook a “three-down back” at practice on Thursday. The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia believes the Bills have “cleared the deck” for Cook to “take a major leap” in Year 2. Cook has consistently been the first RB up in team drills, ahead of Damien Harris. Don't be surprised if Cook's Underdog Fantasy ADP (RB31) rises quickly.
Bills RB Nyheim Hines is expected to miss the entire 2023 season after suffering a "significant knee injury off-site," according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. We'll look for more details on the injury and Hines' rehab timeline. The Bills acquired him via trade last November but used him primarily in a special teams role. Hines handled just six carries and nine targets in nine regular season games -- and then zero carries and three targets in two postseason appearances. There's very little fantasy impact here, besides making RB James Cook a slightly safer bet to handle passing-down snaps.
Update: Pelissero reports that Hines was struck by a jetski. He suffered a torn left ACL, per team reporter Alaina Getzenberg.
Bills beat reporter Sal Capaccio projects RB James Cook to roughly match Devin Singletary’s 2022 workload. The former Bill tallied 177 carries; 38 catches. “He [Cook] is not the biggest guy. He’s 190 pounds…not many running backs are that slight,” Carpaccio said on the Outside the Gridiron podcast. “He can still run between the tackles but you don’t want to do that too much to him. You don’t want him taking a pounding. That’s why the Bills signed Damien Harris.” Per Capaccio, the Bills entered the offseason determined to improve their short-yardage offense – a sentiment confirmed by the signing of Harris. His arrival – and the presence of Josh Allen – brings uncertainty to Cook’s TD outlook. Head to Cook's player page, and you'll see he's projected for only 5 total scores.
Bills RB coach Kelly Skipper gave his assessment of 2nd-year RB James Cook. “Big jump (from first to second year),” Skipper said. “I see it in the classroom. You can see he’s taking control of the playbook. If I ask a question, he’s the first one to answer, where before, he was just really learning. He got that experience, and you saw how much better he got toward the end of the year.” We’ll see how Buffalo breaks down first-team reps at training camp between Cook and Damien Harris. Overall, look for this backfield to see a small uptick in volume. Per beat writer Ryan O’Halloran, the expectation is that the Bills will reduce Josh Allen’s rushing load. (Allen handled nearly 30% of Buffalo’s carries in 2022.) Visit our fantasy football RB rankings to see backfield expectations.
Bills beat writer Matt Parrino came away impressed with RB James Cook at OTAs. “Cook looks bigger and quicker in his second OTAs after the Bills took him in the second round back in 2022,” Parrino wrote. “He’s the odds-on favorite to be the team’s starting running back and he looked the part on Tuesday." That last part is particularly interesting (and debatable). Cook brings more big-play ability than Damien Harris, who signed a low-cost one-year deal in March. But Harris projects as a bigger factor near the goal line. And we know about Josh Allen’s rushing in close. (He carried 15 times inside the 10 last year, scoring five times.) Cook’s receiving performance will be key, and there’s at least an opportunity there. New Texans RB Devin Singletary leaves behind 52 targets -- 20 more than Cook saw as a rookie.
The Bills announced Monday morning that they have signed RB Latavius Murray to a one-year deal. It's noteworthy that he comes off the market ahead of bigger-named free agents Ezekiel Elliot, Leonard Fournette, and Kareem Hunt. But that might just indicate what Buffalo is looking for vs. what those players would seek. Murray likely won't challenge the role of Damien Harris, who signed back in March. And he shouldn't challenge James Cook's role either. Murray looks like veteran depth. We'll see whether the contract terms even make him a lock for the regular-season roster. Don't bother with Murray in your best ball drafts at this point. See where the other Bills RBs sit in our 2023 fantasy football rankings.
On the same day RB Devin Singletary agreed to terms with the Texans, the Bills have reached a deal with a former rival. RB Damien Harris agreed to a one-year pact, according to multiple reports. The money has yet to be announced. It's tough to imagine the money being a lot less than the "up to $3.75 million" Singletary will get from the Texans. So Buffalo clearly believes Harris to be an upgrade. Expect him to complement James Cook, though we wouldn't rule out the Bills also making a significant backfield addition via the draft. Bijan Robinson in Round 1? Probably not. Harris -- who has averaged 4.7 yards per carry for his career and scored on a strong 4.5% of his career rushes -- lands in a good spot for TD upside. QB Josh Allen vultures some short-range rushing TDs, but Singletary still managed 12 ground scores over the past two years. Harris will be a nice value if he stays deep in RB4 range, as he currently sits in Underdog ADP. Cook should probably come down from his RB27 ADP there.
Bills RB James Cook tallied 12 carries for 39 yards and 1 score in Sunday’s win over Miami. He out-carried Devin Singletary by 2, although neither guy saw a target on 39 Josh Allen attempts. It was Cook who found the end zone in the 1st quarter, though. The explosive rookie will look for more next weekend, likely against the Bengals. Cincy exited the regular season 6th toughest in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs.
The NFL announced that a neutral-site Bills vs. Chiefs AFC Championship game would be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Yes ... that'd be Josh Allen vs. Patrick Mahomes in a dome to go to the Super Bowl. Bills-Chiefs produced 62 points in the playoffs 2 years ago and 78 points last year -- with both games coming outside at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bills racked up 254 yards and 3 TDs on the ground in Saturday's win at Chicago. RB Devin Singletary rushed 12 times for 106 yards and a TD. His score came from 33 yards out. RB James Cook carried 11 times for 99 yards and his own TD, which came from 27 yards out. QB Josh Allen contributed the other rushing score, among 6 carries for 41 yards.
The forecast for today's Bills-Bears game calls for temperatures in the single digits, wind chill below zero and winds of 20-25 mph with gusts of 35-40 mph. Not quite as bad as what we're seeing in Cleveland -- but pretty ugly. We've adjusted our projections for this game to account for the weather.
Bills RB James Cook caught a TD pass from 4 yards out in Saturday night's win over the Dolphins. He totaled just 2 receptions for 5 yards among 3 targets, though and rushed 5 times for 34 yards. Cook trailed Devin Singletary in each category, making him difficult to start in a Week 16 visit to the Bears. Singletary tallied 42 yards on 13 carries and caught 3 of 4 targets for 28 yards.
The forecast for tonight's Dolphins-Bills game calls for temperatures in the mid-20s and potentially heavy snow. If there's good news, it's that winds are expected to be manageable: 5-10 mph sustained with gusts of 10-15 mph. These are still less-than-ideal conditions for the passing and kicking games, though. We've made some adjustments to our projections for this game. Check out the updated rankings.
Bills RBs totaled just 13 rushing attempts in Sunday's win over the Jets. Devin Singletary led with 8 carries for 39 yards. Rookie James Cook added 4 carries for just 6 yards. Nyheim Hines claimed the other, gaining 3 yards. The trio also combined for just 4 targets. Singletary led there as well, catching 1 of his 2 looks for 4 yards. Cook caught his long target for 9 yards. Hines caught his only opportunity for 4 yards. It'll be tough to like any of these RBs in the Week 15 matchup with the Dolphins.
Bills RB James Cook carried only twice (for 4 yards) and caught 2 of 5 targets for 14 more in Thursday's win over the Lions. He did tie for 3rd on the team in targets, but even that put him way behind leaders Stefon Diggs (15) and Isaiah McKenzie (10). RB Devin Singletary rushed 14 times for 72 yards and caught his lone target for 8 yards.
The normally pass-favoring Bills leaned on the running game in Sunday's win over the Browns. RB Devin Singletary led the way, with 86 yards and the team's only rushing score on 18 carries. Rookie James Cook added 86 yards on 11 carries. Nyheim Hines barely factored in again, losing 8 yards on his lone carry and watching his lone target fall incomplete. Thanksgiving Day brings a Detroit defense that entered Sunday just 27th in Football Outsiders' run-defense DVOA.
Bills RB Devin Singletary chipped in 2 goal line TDs in Sunday’s loss to Minnesota. Singletary actually saw 4 total goal line carries — including 3 in the 1st quarter alone. It was a deviation from what we’ve seen this year, but perhaps Josh Allen’s injured elbow played a role. Singletary lost a close fumble and added only 1 catch (2 targets). Oddly, Buffalo also activated Duke Johnson, who mixed in for 2 carries behind James Cook (5 attempts). Nyheim Hines at least remained a total non-factor on offense with 1 touch. Singletary draws a favorable matchup with Cleveland in Week 11.
Bills RB Devin Singletary led the backfield with 8 carries (for just 24 yards) in Sunday's loss to the Jets and tied for 2nd on the team in targets (5). He caught 4 balls for 24 yards on a tough day for the passing offense. Rookie James Cook added 2 catches for 18 yards among 4 targets, plus a 4-15 rushing line. Nyheim Hines played just 3 offensive snaps and watched his lone target sail past him on a downfield route. Singletary dominated playing time, garnering 47 snaps to Cook's 14. We'd certainly bet on a playing-time increase for Hines as he gets more time in the offense.
The Bills are acquiring RB Nyheim Hines from the Colts, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The move continues Buffalo's pursuit of an upgrade at receiving back. The timing -- after a solid game from James Cook -- points to the Bills not believing the rookie is ready for a bigger role. Hines brings more proven NFL ability as a runner. He figures to challenge the playing time of RB Devin Singletary as well. It should be an upgrade in opportunity for Hines, who sits just 68th among RBs in opportunity share for his 2022 games with Indy. He garnered a stronger 11.8% target share in his 5 healthy games. Buffalo ranks 5th in the league in pass attempts but just 16th in RB receptions. We'll see whether that shifts at all with Hines around. Hines is signed through 2024 but has 2 cuttable years beyond this one. His arrival hurts the short-term outlook for Cook, though there's a chance Buffalo moves on from Hines after this year. The Bills are sending RB Zack Moss and a conditional 6th-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Colts. Moss has a chance to push past Deon Jackson on the Indy depth chart, but that's far from a sure thing.
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