Miles Austin Injury: Dallas Cowboys WR finally back at practice
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin (19) along the sidelines prior to playing the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Cowboys defeated the Eagles 17-3. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
In an interesting turn of events, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin is finally back at practice, even though the Cowboys are on a bye week. Austin hasn’t played since Week 7, and he hasn’t even caught a pass since first injuring his hamstring in Week 3. The Cowboys tried to bring him back after he initially missed two games, but they decided to “shut him down” after it became evident that Austin was struggling mightily through the injury. He’s had a bad history with hamstring ailments, and this injury has been just the latest chapter in a myriad of hamstring issues for Austin.
ESPN Dallas’s Todd Archer reports that Miles Austin is practicing in uniform today and is also running routes with the first-team offense. It’s great news for Cowboys fans in light of rookie Terrance Williams’s recent struggles, which could just be a rookie regression back to the “mean”. It was unrealistic to expect the speedster to maintain his torrid pace, which bodes well for Austin’s future, as it seemed like he was Wally Pipp’d in a major way when Williams first started to get going.
The fact that Austin is getting in actual practice work to start the bye week is definitely good news, but it still doesn’t mean that Austin will play in next week’s division game against the New York Giants. I think he will, and he seems on track to do that. Keep a close eye on his practice statuses, and it will be especially interesting to see what his role in the Cowboys offense will be upon his return. Will he reassume No. 2 WR duties, or will the Cowboys stick him as a later option (at least initially)?
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