Why it is way too early to be concerned by Buffalo Bills RB James Cook's absence

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Bills running back James Cook was the only player absent from the team's voluntary workout on Tuesday. It's the latest chapter in an off-season of noise and speculation surrounding the Bills 25-year-old Pro Bowl running back.

But how concerning is Cook's absence? Well, the team certainly isn't making it sound like that big of a deal. At least not yet.

Head coach Sean McDermott said he and Cook have spoken and he believes his young running back will be back with the team when "he's ready to be here."

"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. But who knows? Who knows? Let Cook and let Beane be Beane."

Cook is entering the final year of his four-year rookie contract. He and his agent have publicly lobbied for an extension and a significant pay raise, but Brandon Beane has said he doesn't anticipate something getting done before the upcoming season. But Dawkins wants to make it clear that a player not showing up for a voluntary workout isn't the end of the world or a huge deal.

"This is still voluntary, so regardless of what everybody wants, everybody wants us to play like football. How many days in a year? 365 days in a year. That's what the world would want, but it's impossible, and this is voluntary, so this shouldn't be hurting anything that's going on and whatever's going on," Dawkins added. "I just hope that it continues to go in a peaceful way. But this is a voluntary part of the season, and we're happy to have everybody that's here, and for the people that aren't, we still love them, and it is what it is."

The Bills have one more week of voluntary workouts before mandatory mini camp begins on June 10. Cook's attendance and the noise surrounding him will skyrocket if he's not in Orchard Park in a few weeks.

But what other takeaways do we have from Tuesday's voluntary workouts? 7 Sports Director Matt Bove and sports reporter Dom Tibbetts share their thoughts.

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