Dallas Cowboys Miles Austin believes rest has helped

The Dallas Cowboys decided to give wide receiver Miles Austin some well-earned rest in OTAs and minicamp, as they decided to allow him to sit out of some OTA sessions and rest up for one full day of minicamp practices. Austin is coming off of the fourth season in which he played in all 16 games, but he was nicked up last season with hip and hamstring issues. The latter is still bothering him, and he missed six games back in 2011 due to a hamstring injury. He is good to go now, but he is still looking to get his hamstring stronger.

Austin told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Carlos Mendez that the Cowboys plan to give him some practices off during the early offseason has helped him, “It’s one of those things where, you can’t not do it and then do it and tell the difference. But I feel good now.”

However, the 28-year-old wideout did say that if he had the choice, he would have opted to practice and work out during those sessions in both OTAs and minicamp. But Austin has seen- and felt- the helpful effects of the rest, and, at this stage, it’s more important for a player of Austin’s caliber to take a few breathers than rather get the brunt of the reps. Those reps are for the younger guys who need them, whereas Austin is a guy coming off of his third 65-catch season. He can do better than he did in 2013 and should improve, but the rest is more important for him than reps in the offseason.

Austin added that he felt bad for sitting on the sidelines and watching his teammates battle it out on the field in the Texas heat, especially when watching his fellow Cowboys wide receivers running routes.