Safety Atari Bigby was a full participant at practice for the first time three weeks for the Green Bay Packers since straining his groin Week 16 against the New York Giants.

Now the Packers must decide whether he'll play on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs or not, and it could be a difficult choice for Green Bay.

On one hand, Bigby's been injury prone and has played in less than 50% of the games since coming off the Physically Unable to Perform list in Week 9 of the season. On the other hand, he's managed to make an impact in the games he's participated in despite limited playing time.

In just his second game back Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings, Bigby made a shoestring tackle on dangerous kick returner Percy Harvin. And in the win over Giants, he recovered a fumble that helped turn the tide in favor of the Packers.

Bigby said he doesn't know the coach's plan for this week.

"I don't know how they're going to approach this game as far as getting me in there," said Bigby. "But hopefully I get a couple reps to showcase what I can do."

In the four games Bigby's played this season, he's split time with starting strong safety Charlie Peprah who's had himself a surprisingly strong season while filling in for an injured Morgan Burnett.

Whether the Packers would go back to a platoon as they prepare to take Atlanta and their strong ground game remains to be seen.

When asked whether Bigby's physical nature would help against a player like Falcons running back Michael Turner, McCarthy said on Wednesday, "Absolutely. Atari Bigby was a starting safety for us for a couple years. Atari is a player that has just gone through an injury phase, and it would be great to have Atari up."

Even if he doesn't split time with Peprah, Bigby does provide a veteran insurance policy as a backup. In a Week 15 game against the New England Patriots, Bigby filled in during the second half when Nick Collins had to exit because of injury.

Collins said Bigby can be counted upon.

"He's been in the playoff atmosphere before," said Collins. "He knows how the game's gonna go. He can go from team to team very fast.

"Just him dressing and being out there with the guys, I think that will give us a boost and confidence if one of us go down there in the back end, Peprah or myself, they have somebody that can go in and step up and understand the game plan and know how to play the game."

Prior to his groin strain, Bigby also missed time with a hamstring that was giving him trouble, causing him to miss three consecutive games in the middle of the season including the first matchup with Atlanta on Nov. 28. At the beginning of the season, he was originally placed on the PUP list after having ankle surgery back in August.

The Packers must also now weigh whether they can afford to activate Bigby and shanke up their special teams units that have been very good the past couple weeks. McCarthy has praised the consistency in personnel for some of the gains the special teams has made.

Whatever happens, Bigby says he's ready.

"Man, you put me out there, I'm going to go until I can't go anymore," said Bigby. "And I think I can."