Cowboys: Dez Bryant's hamstring injury could keep him out of preseason opener

While the combination of Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and head trainer Jim Maurer all downplayed the latest hamstring setback for the star receiver, his chances of playing in the preseason opener could be slim now.

Bryant was having another stellar practice Saturday before feeling tightness in the hamstring, causing the Cowboys to be overly cautious, especially at a position and an injury that has been so involved lately.

Walking off the field at the end of Saturday’s practice, Bryant confidently said “I’m fine” when asked about the injury.

Jones didn’t sound too concerned either.

“This isn’t the time of year to push hamstrings,” Jones said. “[Dez] didn’t indicate it was anything that was bothering him. They thought it was tight. That’s what we do out there. At this juncture I don’t have anything to be concerned about.”

That would make two hamstring injuries to the starting receivers, as Miles Austin has missed nearly a week with a tweaked hamstring and isn’t expected to even make the trip to Oakland for Monday’s game.

When asked directly if Bryant would play against Oakland or would the Cowboys be cautious, Jones firmly said “cautious." He added: "This early in camp we’re not going to push hamstrings. That’s just policy, and this is exactly what the policy is. When a player’s got a little tightness, we’ll be very conservative as to how much he pushes it.”

The Cowboys have also had hamstring injuries to defensive starters Jason Hatcher and Anthony Spencer.

This week with Austin out, Bryant, Kevin Ogletree and Cole Beasley have taken first-team snaps in the three-wide sets. If Bryant doesn’t play, look for Ogletree, Beasley and Andre Holmes to get most of the first-team reps against the Raiders.

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