Sunday, August 17, 2008

Miles Austin out for 4-6 weeks?

Miles Austin's stellar training camp and preseason has come to an end because of a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee suffered Saturday, and it's unlikely he will be able to play in the regular-season opener Sept. 7 at Cleveland.

Generally speaking, MCL tears (anytime you hear a sprain that means something is torn, by the way) take 4-6 weeks to heal depending on the severity.

As for the final 53-man roster, it almost has to mean the Cowboys keep six wide receivers if Austin is out. I was thinking the Cowboys would go with five receivers - Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton, Hurd, Austin and probably Stanback - before the injury. Now it's six, which takes away a spot from somewhere else - maybe tailback, maybe a No. 3 quarterback, maybe an O-lineman.

If Austin is out for 4 weeks, I don't think the Cowboys should keep 6 receivers. The week 2 game is Monday Night Football so there is one extra day to recover for 4 weeks. If Austin can play in week 2, it wouldn't make much sense to tinker with the roster the way Todd Archer thinks.

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