Whether the Green Bay Packers medical staff signs off on him playing in Sunday’s crucial matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lambeau Field, well, Dillon knows that is out of his hands — so to speak.

“If I can go, I’m going to go,” Dillon said after missing his second straight practice, having broken his right thumb during a carry late in the Packers’ 24-22 loss to the New York Giants on Monday night. “I’ve played through some stuff in the past couple years that, obviously, I (was) hurting but I’m good enough to go.

“I try to be out there if I can. That doesn’t change right now.”

But the nature of the injury is different than toughing it out through a pulled muscle or sprained ankle and Dillon, who has never missed an NFL game because of injury (but did miss five games as a rookie in 2020 while on the COVID-19 list) knows that.

Why? Because ball security is vital for a running back, and whether it’s the black brace he was wearing as he spoke with reporters on Thursday or some other contraption that the athletic training staff conjures up, it’ll be harder for Dillon to grip the football with his right hand than if his thumb was completely intact.

“I think that’s one thing he’s got to take into account, we’ve all got to take into account — that right there,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said of the ball-security risk. He also said catching the ball out of the backfield would be problematic for Dillon, too.

Dillon broke his thumb against the Giants during the Packers’ go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown drive, on which he carried the ball on the first three plays. On his final carry, a 5-yarder, Dillon was carrying the ball with his left hand, not his right.

“Football. That’s how it goes. I got hit with a helmet just the right way,” said Dillon, who didn’t alert the medical staff until the next day. “And then we called another run play after that.”

Complicating matters is No. 1 running back Aaron Jones, who has missed the last three games with a knee injury and missed three others earlier in the season with a hamstring injury, may not be medically cleared to play against the Buccaneers — though Jones sounded Thursday like he was encouraged by his limited practice work that he could play.

“I’m feeling a lot better. Got to move around today in practice and making great strides,” Jones said. “So, I’m going to take it day-by-day, but I feel I’m confident for Sunday.”

If the Packers don’t have Jones or Dillon, their running back options are Patrick Taylor, whom the team re-signed last month when Jones and No. 3 back Emanuel Wilson (shoulder) went down with injuries in a Nov. 19 win over the Los Angeles Chargers; Kenyan Drake, an eighth-year veteran who signed on to the practice squad on Dec. 5 and who has 868 career NFL carries; and practice-squad rookie Ellis Merriweather.

Drake was elevated from the practice squad for Monday night’s game but did not see action.

“Obviously Kenyan’s relatively new to our system, but I think he’s a pro. He’s handled himself accordingly since the day he got here,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I think he’s got a pretty good understanding. He’s been around a lot of ball, so I think it’s easier to acclimate in a timely fashion for guys that have been around a lot of different places.

“I’ve got no reservations about him. Obviously, PT’s done a lot of good things for us, too. So, we’ll roll how we need to roll.”

As a result, the Packers have contingencies for how to attack the Buccaneers, whose run defense entered the week ranked No. 10 in yards allowed per game (98.8) and ninth in yards allowed per attempt (3.91).

“All those guys, we’ve got a plan if we have them or we don’t have them,” Stenavich said. “It’s all kind of a wait-and-see deal that we’ll find out as the week progresses. (But) I’m remaining hopeful that we have all those guys and we’re ready to rock.”

Wide receiver Christian Watson (hamstring) did not practice for the second straight day but expressed hope he could play.

“You never really know where you’re at with stuff like this. One day you’ll feel really good, and then the next day you won’t feel so good,” Watson said. “(But) I’ve had quite a few days now where it’s felt really good, so I definitely feel like I’m in the right place.”

Safety Darnell Savage (shoulder) was the only other player who didn’t practice at all.

Wide receivers Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) and Jayden Reed (ankle) were both limited participants in practice, as was inside linebacker Quay Walker (shoulder).

Wicks and Walker had not been able to practice on Wednesday.

Cornerback Eric Stokes (hamstring) remains on injured reserve but was deemed a full participant in practice for the second straight day, indicating he could be activated for Sunday.