GREEN BAY, Wis. – Sixteen days removed from surgery to reattach the biceps tendon in his right arm, the only thing B.J. Raji knows about his future is that he faces a rehab process that could take up to nine months.

Whatever happens at the end of the process is anyone’s guess for a player who had returned to the Green Bay Packers hoping to parlay his one-year contract into something bigger. But Raji said he plans to be prepared to prove he can still play and do it at a high level.

That was Raji's intent when he returned this season for $4 million after the free agent market failed to produce a long-term deal. Although he appeared to be poised for a big season back at his old nose tackle position after playing defensive end the last three seasons, he might be staring at another one-year deal when free agency hits next season.

B.J. Raji might have played his last game in a Packers uniform. AP Photo/Tom DiPace

And there's no guarantee the Packers will be interested again.

"Right now I'm just not looking further than my rehab," Raji said Thursday, when he spoke to reporters for the first time since he was injured in an Aug. 22 preseason game. "Just trying to get better, making sure that when I'm able to start training that I'm in good position business-wise. I don't want to get crazy out of shape, where people might have some questions. Just doing everything I can to help myself and whatever happens, happens."

Raji compared his situation to that of defensive tackle Henry Melton, who tore his ACL last September as a member of the Chicago Bears. In free agency this past offseason, Melton signed with the Dallas Cowboys, who structured the contract in such a way that it is a one-year deal with an option for three more years. If the Cowboys pick up the option after the first year, Melton’s base salary of $9 million in 2015 would become guaranteed.

"Ultimately, it's something I've never been through before," Raji said. "So it's like, let it [play] out and see what happens. I think it's more important for me to get myself ready so if the questions do come, you can say, 'Listen, I'm doing X, Y and Z,' whereas opposed to you've kind of got your hands up, like, 'Well, I didn't know.'"

Packers physician Dr. Pat McKenzie, who performed Raji’s surgery on Sept. 2, told the 28-year-old that it will take 6 to 9 months for him to recover from the surgery but does not expect any lingering issues. Raji said he was injured while trying to reach out to make a tackle. McKenzie told him that night he was pretty sure his biceps tendon was torn and tests the next day confirmed that.

Raji was still in an immobilizing brace on Thursday and he plans to remain in Green Bay throughout the season to rehab, travel with the team to road games and offer whatever help he can provide to his fellow defensive linemen.

But he knows the possibility exists that he has played his last game for the team that drafted him ninth overall in 2009.

"I would love to be a Packer, but obviously who knows at this point?" he said. "I'm more worried about my rehab and just being around the team and trying to be a help to the young guys."