The Cowboys are going to be down four starters for Sunday’s trip to Detroit.
Safety J.J. Wilcox was ruled out during the week after injuring his knee in practice and he’ll be joined on the inactive list by wide receiver Miles Austin, running back DeMarco Murray and defensive end DeMarcus Ware.
Austin is out with the hamstring injury that kept him out of the lineup for two weeks earlier this season and contributed to two straight games without a catch in Weeks Six and Seven. Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley have done a good job of filling in for Austin and should continue to fill that role against the Lions.
Murray and Ware will miss a second straight game, which is more of a surprise for Murray than Ware. Murray’s knee sprain was doing well enough for him to practice this week and generate positive reports about his chances of playing, but it will be at least one more week before he’s back on the field. Ware is battling a quad injury that kept him out of practice and left him with very little chance of playing in Week Eight even though Ware scoffed at a 3-4 week timeline for his absence.