Miles Austin Misses Practice With Hamstring Injury
Added on Aug 18, 2011 by Jack Thurman in
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The current party line is that its nothing serious, but until proven otherwise Cowboys fans have to be concerned about the health of wide receiver Miles Austin. Austin missed practice on Thursday due to a hamstring injury and his status for the team’s next preseason game (Sunday at home against San Diego) is also uncertain. Austin is listed as ‘questionable’ for the game on official injury reports.
Austin would only say ‘We’ll see’ when asked if he’d practice on Friday. While he’s on the shelf Kevin Ogletree filled his spot with the first team offense alongside Dez Bryant and would likely start in his place if he’s unable to go this weekend. Austin injured the leg during a two minute drill exercise in Tuesday’s practice. He stayed on the field then but has been unable to participate the past two days, instead receiving treatment.
As is part of a coach’s job description at this point of the season, Cowboys’ coach Jason Garrett sounded nonplussed about Austin’s injury:
“Just got to see day to day and we don’t think it’s a serious injury. We didn’t think it was smart to have him go out and practice [Thursday]. We’ll see how he responds on treatment [Thursday afternoon] and make a judgment on tomorrow’s practice.”
Ogletree is the most likely third receiver on the Cowboys’ roster, but he’s been inconsistent in training camp. Depth at this position could be a problem for the team in the event of an injury–with the exception of the two starting WR’s and Ogletree the rest of the receivers on the Cowboys’ roster have only 1 NFL reception between them. Manny Johnson has that catch, with the next two receivers on the depth chart (Dwayne Harris and Raymond Radway) being rookies.
The Cowboys will host the San Diego Chargers on Sunday in their second preseason game on their home field at Cowboys’ Stadium–the site of the 2011 Super Bowl. Dallas is a -1 point NFL betting favorite with the total set at 37. The Cowboys earned a narrow victory over the Denver Broncos in their Week 1 preseason game while the Chargers lost to the Seattle Seahawks.
