June 6, 2025
By CHUCK POLLOCK, Senior Sports Columnist
Some thoughts on Bills running back James Cook and Steelers inside linebacker Cole Holcomb:
YOU MAY have noticed Cook’s name has come up infrequently since Buffalo has been conducting its voluntary Organized Team Activities (OTAs).
Part of the season is that Cook has become a sore subject with the Bills as the former Georgia star has been campaigning for a contract extension which general manager Brandon Beane has maintained the cash-strapped franchise won’t be granting … especially since the asking price is $15 million per season, the same as Ravens star, Derrick Henry.
Cook is the only player on Buffalo’s 90-man roster not participating in the voluntary OTAs and coach Sean McDermott pointed out, “All but James are here and accounted for. We’re staying in touch, like you’d expect a player and a coach to do. James will be here when he’s ready to be here and we move forward.”
Well, the next Waterloo date for Cook is next Tuesday and the beginning of mandatory mini-camp when absent players are fined.
The two-time Pro Bowler has a problem as he’s still under his four-year rookie contract signed after he was picked in the second round of the 2022 draft. He’s had two productive seasons including last year when he rushed for 16 touchdowns and caught passes for a couple of others.
In the past two seasons, Cook has averaged 260 touches (carries and catches) per game, a substantial work load.
And, lest we forget, the average playing life of an NFL running back is five years and Cook is over halfway through, two of those with heavy usage.
This past week, an interesting rumor involving Cook and the Bears surfaced.
In it, Buffalo sent Cook to Chicago for running back De’Andre Swift and a fourth-round draft pick in 2026.
That actually seems reasonably fair and, in the Bills case, no pro team wants a salary hassle hanging over a team once the regular season commences.
As the countdown for training camp at St. John Fisher begins in late July, it will be interesting to see whether Cook emerges as dependable or a distraction.
I BECAME familiar with Cole Holcomb because of his parents, Portville natives Jack and Beth.
They moved to Charlotte years ago where they owned a pair of car delarships. Eventually, they headed to New Smyrna, Fla. where they stayed in the automobile business and where Cole was born.
After a high-profile high school career, he starred at the University of North Carolina and was ultimately taken by the Washington Redskins, now the Commanders in the fifth round of the 2019 draft.
That’s when I did a piece on Jack who had never missed a single game of Cole’s career starting with midgets through the NFL.
At 6-foot-1, 240 pounds Holcomb was the prototype NFL inside linebacker and after four seasons with Washington, he left as a free agent and signed with Pittsburgh.
In his first year with the Steelers, his career took a devastating turn.
As the Associated Press’ Will Graves wrote of Cole’s recovery, “(He) was chasing after wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins on a Thursday night game in November 2023 when a diving teammate slammed into Holcomb’s left leg, shredding multiple ligaments in his knee. The Amazon Prime crew broadcasting the game showed it in slow motion once and decided that was enough.”
Doctors told him there was a chance he’d never play again.
Holcomb’s season was done as was all of 2024, a campaign when, according to Graves, “Pittsburgh’s defense (got) gashed repeatedly during a five-game skid that culminated in a blowout loss to Baltimore in the opening round of the playoffs.”
For now, Holcomb is “focused on trying to get back to being the player who looked every bit worth the $18 million investment the Steelers made in him when they signed him in March 2023 … though he’s less than thrilled that it took this long. “
But his expectation is that when Pittsburgh’s season opens Sept. 7 in the Meadowlands against the Jets, Holcomb will have replaced Patrick Queen, the free agent inside backer the Steelers signed to take his place.
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
