Miles Austin Injury: Dallas Cowboys WR still not at practice

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin (19) cannot catch a pass against Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall (23) in the fourth quarter at AT

The Dallas Cowboys seem content with shutting down Miles Austin until he is 100% healthy, but it’s anyone’s guess as to when Austin will be at full strength again. He hasn’t caught a pass since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 3 that the Cowboys initially downplayed, but it became clear that Austin suffered a significant injury once he missed two games following the injury. Austin, who has had a history of hamstring ailments, couldn’t get anything going against the Washington Redskins or Philadelphia Eagles either, so the Cowboys decided to shut him down due to his struggles with the injury.

ESPN Dallas’s Todd Archer reports that Miles Austin also missed today’s practice session, which means that he hasn’t practiced all week. He can effectively be ruled out for this week’s contest against the Minnesota Vikings, but the Cowboys won’t need him anyway against a secondary as bad as Minnesota’s.

The excellent play of slot receiver Cole Beasley and bona fide deep threat Terrance Williams have allowed the Cowboys to play it this cautious with Austin, as he can take his sweet time with coming back onto the field. That’s the best policy for both parties, because hamstring injuries are always volatile for a player like Austin. He should be healthy in the long run, but it will be interesting to see when he is finally able to return. The Cowboys face an elite team next week in the New Orleans Saints, so I would honestly expect Austin to play in order to help the Cowboys counter the Saints multitude of weapons and high-powered passing attack with an additional weapon in the passing game of their own.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter for more NFL updates and analysis @SorianoJoe. Be sure to like us on Facebook here and follow our site on Twitter as well.