Miles Austin Injury: Dallas Cowboys Must Sit Star WR for Week 3

It is imperative owner Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys sit superstar wide receiver Miles Austin Week 3.

The Cowboys are set to enjoy their home opener on ESPN’s Monday Night Football against the Washington Redskins.

This is an important NFC East division grudge match because the Cowboys have the opportunity to tie Washington and either Philadelphia or New York atop the division with a 2-1 record. If Dallas falls, they will drop to last place with a 1-2 record and stare up at an undefeated Washington team.

Dallas comes in to the game hobbled as Tony Romo deals with a punctured lung and cracked rib and Felix Jones deals with a separated shoulder. Dallas pulled out the heroics against San Francisco Week 2 in wake of Dez Bryant missing the contest altogether with a quad injury.

It remains to be seen if Bryant will suit up Monday night, and the organization is “hopeful,” according to ESPN Washington Redskins Insider Chris Russell.

As Russell states, Austin has been dealing with this hamstring injury for weeks. He wasn’t even a guarantee to play against San Fran, though the team is lucky he did, since they avoided an 0-2 start thanks to his nine receptions for 143 yards and three touchdowns.

Still, Austin will never be able to dominate like that again if he continues to re-aggravate the injury. He desperately needs the time to heal this fickle injury.

Jerry Jones admits that Austin’s chances of playing are “probably pretty negative,” according to San Antonio News-Express’ Tom Orsborn.

Jones and head coach Jason Garrett need to accept that Austin shouldn’t play. It isn’t wise to keep rushing him into games. If Bryant can receive the day off to rest his quad, then Austin needs the same time to heal his hamstring. The season is too young for Dallas to risk further injury to their studs.

Even if Romo, Bryant, Jones and Austin are all forced to miss the game—so be it. The NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. The Cowboys need their skill players for the stretch run of the season, not the beginning.

As we’ve seen with past Super Bowl winners, all that matters is getting hot right before the playoffs start to get in. Wild card teams seem to be the way to go, as we’ve seen the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants and Green Bay Packers all win from the wild card slot.

Washington may come in to the game with a ton of momentum, but they are not an overpowering team. With the right preparation, Jon Kitna, Tashard Choice, Jason Witten, Kevin Ogletree and Jessee Holley could all put together a victory. Rob Ryan’s defense is much improved this season and should be able to stop Rex Grossman.

Austin is too valuable as a playmaker for Romo and Kitna moving forward with the season. This is an important matchup, but it’s not worth risking Austin for most of the season.