Donte Whitner has played football most of his life, so he understands that injuries are part of the game.

That doesn't mean he has to like it.

The veteran safety has appeared in only four of the Buffalo Bills' first eight games. He missed two because of thumb surgery. In his first game back, he suffered a high ankle sprain that kept him out of the last two contests.

"It's very tough," Whitner said. "You almost have to pull yourself out of a funk every now and then because a lot of times when you miss a lot of time you feel kind of worthless. You're just around watching practice, watching film, talking to guys in the training room, but you're not actually out there putting all the work in.

"It's not like I want to be out injured. You don't want anything that's going to be prolonged or anything that's going to be career- or season-ending. I'm just thankful I don't have that. I have an opportunity to maybe play the next eight games of the season and I'm looking forward to it."

Whitner wants to play on Sunday when the Bills visit the Tennessee Titans, but he can't say for sure he'll be able to. High ankle sprains usually take four to six weeks to heal, so his return this week would be ahead of schedule.

Whitner practiced on Monday and is expected to participate in workouts today and Thursday, though he's not certain how much he'll be able to do.

"We're going to take it one day at a time," he said. "I have to let the trainers and my coaching staff figure that out, but I feel pretty good. It's not 100 percent, but you're never 100 percent in the National Football League. I feel like I could go. I really want to, a lot. We'll see after practice [today] and Thursday and I'll know better."

As much as Whitner wants to play, he's not going to rush things. Ankle sprains can be a nagging problem if a player doesn't take time to heal. Fellow Bills safety Bryan Scott is just getting back to 100 percent after missing five games with a high ankle sprain.

The Bills probably can take a similarly conservative approach with Whitner considering how well the secondary has played in his absence.

Rookie free safety Jairus Byrd has been a sensation, with an NFL-high seven interceptions. George Wilson has two interceptions and is one of the Bills' leading tacklers since replacing Scott at strong safety.

"We have a deep secondary," Whitner said. "We have some guys who are making plays. My hat goes off to [secondary] coach [George] Catavolos for getting guys ready and being able to plug guys in when someone goes down."

The depth at secondary has created a pleasant problem — getting playing time for their safeties once they're all healthy. One option is using three safeties, something the Bills have done before.

"We're doing some things where three of us are on the field at the same time, whether it's Bryan playing linebacker or me coming down in the box playing linebacker," Whitner said. "We're doing some things to keep players that make plays on the football field. I commend the coaches for that."