AP

The Packers have been without two of their top cornerbacks recently with both Tramon Williams and Casey Hayward sidelined by injuries, but Williams still feels confident that he’ll be ready to go when the bell rings to start the season.

Williams is trying to recover from a bone bruise in his knee and said Thursday that his research into the way other athletes, including NBA star Dwyane Wade, have dealt with the injury has told him that a cautious approach is the best one. So while Williams thought he’d be able to play by now, he’s concentrating more on being ready for the start of the regular season and thinks he’ll be able to make it on the field for that game against the 49ers.

“Obviously, if it was up to me I’d be practicing,” Williams said, via Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “But it’s something that you never want to rush, especially a bone bruise. It’s pretty painful. Those things are pretty painful. So you have to be careful with those things. A lot of guys who have had them, research-wise, it kind of lingers for a while. So you don’t want to come right back on it. I’m just trying to take my time with it at this point and continue to get treatment. It’s starting to feel better by the day, so that’s all I can ask for.”

Whether Williams will be able to be the player he was a few years ago won’t be known until he’s on the field, but the Packers could use all the options they can get at corner right now. If he’s not able to make it back for the start of the regular season, they’ll need to rely heavily on Sam Shields, Micah Hyde and Davon House to stop opposing passing games.