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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — James Cook emerged from the Highmark Stadium tunnel in full pads and uniform, putting a charge into the pregame summer air.

The Buffalo Bills running back hadn’t worn any of his gear for a week. He wants a new contract and has applied his leverage by refusing to practice. To see Cook on the field Saturday — he even took a first-team rep in 11-on-11 warmup drills — was a jolt of hope.

Cook never was going to play. In what was nothing more than a costume change, he milled about on the sidelines of the Bills’ 34-25 exhibition loss to the New York Giants.

Cook stood next to running backs coach Kelly Skipper on the sideline for much of the game. For the second half, Cook wore sunglasses and running shoes, occasionally using a massage gun on his legs and sometimes watching from the bench.

Upon exiting the locker room to head home, I asked Cook if he had a moment to chat. He didn’t say a word, waving his hand as a de facto “no comment.”

Bills coach Sean McDermott revealed 20 minutes later the Bills wanted Cook to play Saturday, but last year’s NFL rushing touchdowns co-leader refused — just as Cook has done since the Aug. 1 intrasquad scrimmage, missing four straight training camp practices and maybe many more.

“James and I had a good conversation yesterday,” McDermott said as part of the opening statement of his postgame news conference. “We talked about warming up. He agreed to warm up but not play due to his situation right now. That’s where we’re at. So no change, really, overall.”

Was the discussion with Cook an attempt to reach a compromise?“There’s really no change at this point and time from what it was going into this weekend and the game today. He warmed up, like I said, but at this point, due to his situation and the position he’s in, was not willing to play. So that’s where we’re at. Again, it was a good conversation, but really no change overall.”

Asked whether the Bills expect Cook to participate Tuesday in the next full-go practice, McDermott made it clear he was done discussing the stand-around tailback.

“We can talk about the guys who played,” McDermott said. “I think that’s the right thing to do and the fair thing to do now.”

“James’ situation is James’ situation, and let’s talk about the team.”

Nothing is bigger than the team.

Despite the support and diplomacy shown by Cook’s teammates and coaches, Buffalo knows the ongoing saga is becoming a distraction.

The team needs him in the huddle.

“You’d be crazy to say we don’t want him out there,” quarterback Josh Allen said Thursday. “We desperately want him out there with us. Hopefully, something can get done.”

The team is also aggravated that this problem exists at all.

McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane are proud of the culture they’ve grown, cultivating a hale organization from the salted soil that produced 17 years of playoff famine. Propelled by their face-of-the-NFL quarterback, they’ve turned a small-market outpost into a perennial Super Bowl contender.

Prior to Cook, Beane never had a contract situation cause any training camp boycott. Everybody is supposed to be happy here. The idea that a star player is upset about his contract goes against the Bills’ well-manicured identity.

However, it must not be super-fun-wow for Cook to see several of his peers get contract extensions this offseason while he remains empty-handed. Three of his 2022 draft classmates — linebacker Terrel Bernard, receiver Khalil Shakir, cornerback Christian Benford — and edge rusher Gregory Rousseau now are on their second NFL deals.

Benford suggested last week at St. John Fisher University that he wouldn’t handle his contract the way Cook has.

“If I was in that position, it’d probably be the same as how I’m doing now — you know what I’m saying? — working my butt off,” Benford said. “I’m challenging myself to the wit’s end, whether I got the money or not, whether they gave me the extension or not. I’m still going to challenge myself and give my all to the wit’s end.”

Then again, Benford was a sixth-round draft pick out of Division I-AA Villanova, while Cook was pedigreed, a second-round choice from FBS powerhouse Georgia.

Cook is entering the final season of his four-year, $5.83 million rookie contract. He believes he has outperformed that deal. He rushed for 16 touchdowns last year, tying a club record, and scored twice more on receptions. Cook has been named to the past two Pro Bowl rosters.

Cook contrarians note he signed the contract and should abide by it, that he ought to go out and prove his greatness with another great campaign before expecting a financial windfall. However, NFL contracts aren’t fully guaranteed like in other leagues. It’s funny how critics don’t rail against a team’s so-called contractual obligations when it cuts a player such as popular center Mitch Morse, whose salary is no longer palatable.

The controversy is reinforced by the debate over whether running backs are worth big bucks in the first place. Cook is not a three-down back given his liability as a pass-blocker. Buffalo is hesitant to invest so much into an incomplete back.

“James wants what he wants,” Bills running back Ty Johnson said Saturday, “and that’s all there is to it.

“He’s a man about his business, about his money. That’s how I leave it. I’m just worried about myself and what I can do for this team.”

Cook learned about football business from his big brother, Dalvin Cook. Perhaps the most important lesson is that a running back’s shelf life is preciously short.

Dalvin Cook, about to turn 25 at the time, squabbled with the Minnesota Vikings in 2020. After he rushed for 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns in his first Pro Bowl season, Dalvin threatened to hold out if his rookie contract wasn’t extended before the season. Dalvin showed up to training camp, got a five-year, $63 million contract and made three more Pro Bowls before the Vikings cut him for money reasons. Dalvin soon became a whisper of a runner, scuffling through the past two seasons with three clubs, including time on the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys practice squads.

“There’s the huge business piece to this game,” Allen said. “It’s the hardest part. A lot of people don’t understand it.

“This is generational stuff. It’s wealth for you and your family. It’s not a small chunk of change.”

Buffalo’s running backs all enjoyed their moments Saturday. Davis started and had the worst day as a runner, but probably the most entertaining. He rushed four times for only 7 yards and caught one pass for 7 yards, but he kicked an extra point with Tyler Bass sidelined by pelvic soreness.

Johnson had three carries for 26 yards and didn’t see any targets. Frank Gore Jr. ran five times for 21 yards and caught a team-high five passes for 50 yards. Darrynton Evans ran twice for 4 yards but added two receptions for 14 yards, including a 7-yard TD from quarterback Mike White in the fourth quarter. Fullback Reggie Gilliam made a 19-yard catch.

Everybody knows, however, that any of those backs will have difficulty replacing what Cook can do.

“James is one of a kind,” Davis said. “There’s a very few amount of guys who’s breaking 75-yard runs in NFL, and he’s one of those guys. To see how special he is when he has the ball in his hands, he does a lot for this organization. He does a lot for this running back room.

“So to have him continue to be out here definitely is a good thing for the Buffalo Bills.”

That would be best for the team and its Super Bowl aspirations.

The Bills better hope Cook’s decision to warm up is a metaphor for a thaw in negotiations.

(Top photo: Mark Konezny / Imagn Images)