GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The upcoming bye week won't factor into whether Green Bay Packers cornerback Sam Shields will play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.

If Shields' knee injury allows him to play, then he'll play and the week off following the Saints will have nothing to do with that decision.

At least that was coach Mike McCarthy's stance on Wednesday.

"Sam's going through a medical situation and when he's ready, he'll play," McCarthy said.

Shields missed last week's game against the Carolina Panthers because of the knee injury he sustained against the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 12, and he was not able to return to practice on Wednesday.

However, McCarthy said Shields went through an individual workout on Wednesday.

Three other key players also missed Wednesday's practice. The newest injury was to safety Morgan Burnett, who sustained a calf injury apparently in the late stages of the game against the Carolina Panthers. Running back James Starks (ankle) and defensive end Datone Jones (ankle) also missed practice. Starks was injured against the Panthers, while Jones has missed the last two games.

McCarthy said he did not have a high level of concern for those three players.

"Morgan Burnett and actually Datone and James Starks, I just came from the practice facility [and] they were going through their workout," McCarthy said. "They all hopefully looked like they were moving pretty good. So we'll see how all three of them come out."

Here's the full injury report:

• S Morgan Burnett (calf, did not practice)

• DE Datone Jones (ankle, did not practice)

• CB Sam Shields (knee, did not practice)

• RB James Starks (ankle, did not practice)