GREEN BAY, Wis. -- If the Green Bay Packers are counting on a running back with a 1.8-yard rushing average and a tight end with six catches for 53 yards to reform their offense, then the return of James Starks and Jared Cook from injuries might not be the boon that they hope it is.

Except for one thing: Cook is exactly the kind of player coach Mike McCarthy needs to combat how opposing defensive coordinators have lined up against his offense of late. Defenses have dared the Packers to get open against man coverage, and without a tight end who can consistently win that matchup, it's been stressful on their receivers.

"I just think it should open things up a little bit more," Cook said of his potential return Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. "Teams have been playing us in a lot of man the past few games. Those are the fun games that you want to play in, so I'm looking forward to getting back and just being around the fellas. I miss them; I hope they miss me, too. I just want to get out there and help us as much as I can."

Cook and Starks practiced in pads Thursday for the first time since their respective injuries. Cook hasn't played since he sprained his right ankle in Week 3 against the Detroit Lions. Starks has been out since Week 5 with a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery.

Granted, Cook had limited production in the two-plus games before his injury. But in his absence, Richard Rodgers and Justin Perillo struggled to replicate what the Packers hoped to get when they signed Cook to a one-year, $2.75 million deal. Aaron Rodgers tried to get the tight ends more involved in last week's loss to the Indianapolis Colts, throwing their way 12 times. Richard Rodgers caught six passes for 64 yards and Perillo two for 18. Only one of those receptions went for more than 12 yards.

Cook, the Packers' best deep-threat tight end, relishes the idea of playing against man coverage.

"You're usually going to have a safety or a linebacker covering you, so either you've got an ability to beat him one-on-one or you've got the ability to open somebody else up," Cook said. "A lot of picks, a lot of rubs, a lot of just man-to-man routes, so you can kind of set up the route however you want to get open."

At this point, it's no guarantee that either Cook or Starks will play against the Titans. Both were listed as limited participants in Thursday's full-pads practice. Cook said he's about a week ahead of what the doctors gave him for a timeline after his injury, and Starks said he's still in day-to-day mode. McCarthy might be more inclined to lean on converted receiver Ty Montgomery as his primary back even when Starks returns.

In the absence of Cook and Starks, McCarthy went from a no-huddle, up-tempo offense that rarely changed personnel to a traditional huddle with mass substitutions. In fact, McCarthy said this week that he has 21 different personnel packages in his game plan.

"I think it's the highest we've ever had in a game plan," McCarthy said. "That's the result of moving pieces of who's going to be out, who's not going to be out."

Said Cook: "You see the different things that coach McCarthy's doing. It is exciting. Just imagine if you were able to do more two-tight-ends sets or three-tight-ends sets of if you had James back and you had Ty. There's a lot of factors that could be involved in this offense being better."