T.O.'s back problems not deemed serious

AP Photo MEDIA DARLING - Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens (above, center) speaks with reporters. An MRI exam was conducted on Owens' back, and turned out to be negative, a good thing for the Cowboys, who need the controversial receiver on the field making plays. SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Terrell Owens' back pain is just spasms and isn't considered serious.

An MRI done Monday, when Owens missed the Dallas Cowboys' practice for the second straight day, showed no problems.

Dallas opens its preseason schedule at home Thursday against Indianapolis.

The Cowboys had the exam done because the 33-year-old receiver still had muscle stiffness a day after being treated by team trainers. T.O. got more treatment Monday and wasn't on the field for either of the team's two practice sessions.

Even before the test results came back, coach Wade Phillips didn't sound concerned. "We feel sure that he just has back spasms, but we don't want to take any chances," Phillips said after the first practice. "There's no alarm, but we wanted to make sure."

Receivers coach Ray Sherman said he didn't know if Owens would be at practice Tuesday, when the Cowboys will have their last full workout in the Alamodome. The team will break camp after a short walkthrough Wednesday.

Before missing Sunday, Owens had taken part in four straight workouts since being given time off by Phillips to rest his sore legs. Owens went through drills at full speed without any apparent problems during workouts, including two Saturday.

While the team practiced Sunday, Owens was with the trainers doing whirlpool therapy and work on a stationary bike.

"I thought he would be a little better today, because he did all the stuff our trainers wanted him to do," Phillips said. "But it wasn't better."

Still, Phillips hasn't ruled out the possibility of Owens playing in the preseason opener Thursday night against Indianapolis.

"No, he wants to play," Phillips said.

Owens missed about half of his first training camp with the Cowboys last year, including the first three preseason games, because of a hamstring problem. Owens' coach-ordered hiatus last week included sitting out both workouts Wednesday. That was a day after he came on the field in uniform, minus shoulder pads or a helmet, after being told by Phillips to take it easy.

Notes: QB Tony Romo and the first-team offense are expected to play about a quarter Thursday. Phillips said he might use all four quarterbacks in the game. ... RB Julius Jones was in a feisty mood, slamming safety Pat Watkins to the ground at the end of a play late in the second practice. On his next play, Jones had words with Jacques Reeves and then threw the football toward the defender without hitting him. "It's part of football, everybody wants to be a bully," linebacker Kevin Burnett joked. Jones ran off the field without talking, but Watkins said everything was OK between them. ... The guest list at practice Monday included former coach Barry Switzer, former Minnesota Vikings owner and San Antonio resident Red McCombs and Lee Roy Jordan, a Cowboys linebacker from 1963-76 who is in the team's famed Ring of Honor. Phillips had Jordan address the team after the first practice.