Cooks signed with the Bills on Nov. 25 to help the Bills at one of their neediest positions, partly because of their lack of trust in Coleman. But Cooks also viewed his job as trying to get the best out of a young player who had a strong training camp and a good Week 1 performance before falling off.
Cooks doesn’t know what Coleman’s intentions are but believes he’s still capable of fulfilling his promise.
“I’m definitely in touch with Keon,” Cooks said. “When I got to Buffalo, that was a guy I was going to gravitate towards to help out. I think Keon can play this game at a high level, I really do. He’s going to continue to grow.
“I think he’s also misunderstood. He’s a young kid, right? He’s still trying to figure it out. For me, I’ll take that and say, ‘How can I help this kid grow and be the guy they want him to be?’ Because obviously, there’s talent there. The guy can make plays. I think he’ll continue to grow, and I think he has been.”
Even though Cooks was teammates with Coleman for only a few months, he said he saw growth in that time.
“When I got there, to see where he was Day 1 to the end of this season … you know, he’s in there at 6, 7 in the morning, working out. He’s becoming a pro, learning those things,” Cooks said.
First, the Bills need to find a new head coach. Then, they can figure out if Coleman still fits in their plans, assuming he even wants to remain in Buffalo. But Cooks believes there’s a path to making that work.
“I think all it takes sometimes is, (someone saying) ‘Hey, let me take you under my wing and kind of show you the way,'” Cooks said.
