By DAVID MOORE
Staff Writer
dmoore@dallasnews.com
Published 18 August 2011 11:51 PM
IRVING — On a day when a tight hamstring kept Miles Austin out of practice and underscored how little experience the Cowboys have at wide receiver, a reminder of why this hadn’t been a concern in recent years was across the practice field.
Patrick Crayton was at Valley Ranch on Thursday. The receiver who spent the first six seasons of his career with the Cowboys was back one year after the trade that sent him to the Chargers.
Crayton was considered a luxury for the Cowboys last season after the club spent a first-round pick on Dez Bryant . He wouldn’t be a luxury now. Once you get past Austin and Bryant, the most experienced NFL receiver is Kevin Ogletree with 10 receptions. Manny Johnson has one. No other receiver has caught a pass in a regular-season game.
That inexperience could encourage the Cowboys to scour the waiver wire for a veteran receiver in coming weeks.
“Hey, I don’t know what to tell them,” Crayton said. “I won’t be available.”
Good point. The Chargers aren’t about to let Crayton go anywhere.
“Patrick was a very good player for us here, a very versatile guy,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “He’s a smart guy. He’s tough, a guy you can put in any situation and he seemed to come up and make plays.”
Crayton called his time with the Cowboys wonderful and said there were no hard feelings over his departure. He said he was grateful to owner Jerry Jones and his family for his time with the club.
And what about the assertion that the club has been unable to find a replacement for Crayton?
“They replaced me,” he said. “How many [receivers] dress for the team each game? Five. Six.
“Yeah, I’ve been replaced.”
Staff Writer
dmoore@dallasnews.com
Published 18 August 2011 11:51 PM
IRVING — On a day when a tight hamstring kept Miles Austin out of practice and underscored how little experience the Cowboys have at wide receiver, a reminder of why this hadn’t been a concern in recent years was across the practice field.
Patrick Crayton was at Valley Ranch on Thursday. The receiver who spent the first six seasons of his career with the Cowboys was back one year after the trade that sent him to the Chargers.
Crayton was considered a luxury for the Cowboys last season after the club spent a first-round pick on Dez Bryant . He wouldn’t be a luxury now. Once you get past Austin and Bryant, the most experienced NFL receiver is Kevin Ogletree with 10 receptions. Manny Johnson has one. No other receiver has caught a pass in a regular-season game.
That inexperience could encourage the Cowboys to scour the waiver wire for a veteran receiver in coming weeks.
“Hey, I don’t know what to tell them,” Crayton said. “I won’t be available.”
Good point. The Chargers aren’t about to let Crayton go anywhere.
“Patrick was a very good player for us here, a very versatile guy,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “He’s a smart guy. He’s tough, a guy you can put in any situation and he seemed to come up and make plays.”
Crayton called his time with the Cowboys wonderful and said there were no hard feelings over his departure. He said he was grateful to owner Jerry Jones and his family for his time with the club.
And what about the assertion that the club has been unable to find a replacement for Crayton?
“They replaced me,” he said. “How many [receivers] dress for the team each game? Five. Six.
“Yeah, I’ve been replaced.”
