Owens might sit through preseason

TERRELL OWENS IRVING (AP) - Terrell Owens missed practice again Thursday, virtually assuring he will miss his third straight preseason game for the Dallas Cowboys this weekend and might not play until the regular season opener.

Owens missed 15 of 27 training camp workouts in Oxnard, Calif., and the first two exhibition games before the Cowboys resumed practice at home Wednesday.

Owens said Wednesday he aggravated his left hamstring injury by returning to practice too soon last week. The receiver characterized his injury as a "severe pull" and said he wasn't going to jeopardize his health by rushing back again.

The Cowboys play San Francisco, Owens' original team,

on Saturday

night. They

TERRELL OWENS

play Minnesota their last preseason game five nights later, on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Texas Stadium.

It's possible Owens might not play in a game until the Sept. 10 opener at Jacksonville. He hasn't played in a game with quarterback Drew Bledsoe, and the Dallas offense is different from the West Coast scheme Owens played in for the 49ers and Philadelphia.

Owens didn't talk to reporters Thursday, but Bledsoe said the key is for the receiver to get healthy.

"We can't have the guy force himself back on the field too soon and then lose him for the year. The important thing is for him to get healthy and get back out there so he can help us when the games count," Bledsoe said. "He's been in all the meetings, he knows what's going on. When he came back in practice last week, he stepped right in and didn't make mistakes, did a nice job."

Owens said Wednesday he's not concerned about the possibility of not playing in the preseason.

"I don't really have any doubts about if I'm going to perform or not," he said.

After missing 14 consecutive training camp practices and the preseason opener in Seattle because of the hamstring problem that has bothered him all month, Owens returned for five practices last week. He then missed the final full workout in California.

Owens first felt a twinge in his hamstring Aug. 2, but an MRI taken three days later was clear. Owens said another MRI this week also was negative, with only a little fluid in the hamstring.

"Just because the MRI doesn't show anything, that doesn't mean that I'm not hurting," Owens said.