Bills minicamp opens with focus on Cook, injuries, job battles

ORCHARD PARK – The Buffalo Bills can only hope that running back James Cook’s absence from all of their offseason program before this week’s mandatory minicamp manifests itself as it did in 2025.

Last year the circumstances were a little different as Cook stayed away from Orchard Park because he was unhappy with his contract and his agent was trying to hammer out an extension with general manager Brandon Beane.

However, he dutifully showed up for minicamp to avoid being fined, famously saying “I like my money, that’s why I’m here,” and he reported on time to training camp at St. John Fisher University and was ultimately rewarded with a new deal which got plenty of coverage from HBO’s Hard Knocks crew.

Having banked $28.8 million in guaranteed money, Cook delivered the best of his four seasons in Buffalo as he won the NFL rushing title with 1,621 yards, caught 33 passes for 291 yards and scored 14 touchdowns, then added another 192 yards from scrimmage and a TD in two playoff games.

While he avoided speaking to reporters Tuesday following the first minicamp session, the assumption to be drawn is that the Bills were fine with Cook staying at his offseason home in Florida and working out with his own team of trainers.

“I always want our guys here, and I’ve been in touch with Jimbo the whole time,” head coach Joe Brady said. “You guys saw how James wasn’t here last offseason and you guys remember how he was when he showed up last offseason. He works, and we’re in touch with everything down there. I’m always going to want guys here, but it’s voluntary. Jimbo has a great work ethic and a great approach, and it was really good to be around him (Monday when he arrived). I’m excited for him to get out there. I know he’s excited to be with the guys again.”

Here are a few other things Brady covered in his last session with reporters before training camp:

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Cook carried a career-high 309 times last year which surpassed his previous set in 2023 by 72, and his overall touches were at 342 which were 61 more than he had in 2023.

What was strange is that in between in the 2024 season, he had only 239 total touches yet he tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns with 16.

“I don’t think you ever go into each game with a mindset of like, ‘Hey, this is how many carries he’s going to have’ but it does pile up throughout the season, right?” Brady said. “And it wasn’t like he’s not taking hits. I know it was asked a lot last season. I would love to be able to get Ray (Davis), Ty (Johnson), Frank (Gore Jr.) involved and I hope those opportunities come up this year.

“James was just playing at such a high level last year. He was in such a rhythm and a routine that I felt confident in him being able to uphold that. And this year again we’re looking at everything.”
is not practicing

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There is a little bit of intrigue surrounding the fourth-year player who is in line to become a full-time starter for the first time since the Bills picked him in the third round of the 2023 draft.

Williams suffered a neck injury on the opening kickoff of the playoff loss in Denver and that was still lingering when the offseason program began. However, he was not on the field Tuesday and he was spotted in the weight room using crutches to get around.

Brady was a little cryptic when he was asked about Williams who had not been on the field for the few voluntary sessions where media were allowed to watch.

“I’m not going to get into specifics of like when it happened, but yeah, I mean injuries are going to happen in season or offseason,” Brady said. “But Dorian’s in a great head space and I know he’s excited for training camp. I think everything is still early, but I mean right now, I feel like he’s in a good place and I anticipate him being there when he gets there and I anticipate he’ll be ready to rock.”

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Because these practices are not conducted in pads, it’s really difficult to gauge what is happening in the trenches at positions where physicality is so important.

That’s why the competition between Austin Corbett, Alec Anderson and whoever else the Bills may try at left guard as they seek the replacement for free agent departee David Edwards is sort of on pause until training camp.

“I don’t want to ever say that this time of year isn’t important, and I know they might be quote-unquote ‘in pajamas’ right now in the O-line/D-line game,” Brady said. “Pads come on and different players play differently. But it’s important to see the technique and the communication and them working at it. I’m understanding that there is a point in the offseason, they’re only allowed to be so physical so it’s hard to make some of the judgments.

“I like the competition that we had up there. We’ve had a lot of great conversations this past week. There’s gonna be a lot of opportunities for these guys and it’s up to them to go take it. I hope we show up to camp with an edge and guys wanting to go take these spots. Left guard is just a part of that.”
is getting a look on defense

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The Bills’ seventh-round pick in 2024 came through the International Pathway Program which is why he’s been able to stay on the roster the past two seasons without fear of being cut.

The Bills picked him more than anything out of curiosity because for a big man – 6-foot-7, 305 pounds – the former English rugby player was such a smooth athlete, even if he’d never played football before. After trying to learn the intricacies of the offensive line, the Bills moved him over to the defensive side last week and that’s where he was Tuesday.

“He might be the biggest freak of an athlete on our football team,” Brady said. “And it’s a transition, playing offensive tackle and going backwards and man, the steps that he’s made in these last couple of years. And then he also missed the whole (2025) season, right? Sometimes that’s forgotten.

“You see him move around, you see him do some things, and you see the type of skill sets that we’re looking at from a defense perspective. It’s not anything that he was doing wrong on the offensive side of the ball. He was progressing, but it was more of like, ‘Man I’d love to see what this guy can do going forward.’ And he was all about it. He’s as explosive as it gets, as athletic as it gets; he’s a large human. Excited to see him on the other side of the ball.”

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills updates on James Cook, Dorian Williams injury, OL battle