IRVING – Cracks are starting to become more evident in the relationship between Terrell Owens and the Cowboys.
Now, the Cowboys have to ensure those cracks don't create a fissure that can't be repaired.
Terrell Owens, who has missed 19 of 31 practices since the start of training camp with a strained left hamstring, missed a team meeting and a rehabilitation session and was late to an offensive meeting Friday.
"That's our club business. That's going to be accounted for," owner Jerry Jones said at halftime of Saturday's 17-7 win over San Francisco.
Owens was fined $9,500.
When asked if there was any problem between Owens and the club, Jones said, "We're going to be fine."
Several sources said Owens has been fined for being late to multiple rehabilitation sessions.
Owens could not be reached for comment. He did not attend the game, which is not unusual for injured players in the preseason because coach Bill Parcells doesn't like players who aren't playing to be on the sideline.
The strained hamstring Owens suffered during the first week of training camp could create a conflict between Owens and Parcells. Parcells is a stickler for having players practice.
He believes that because football is a game of repetition, players who don't practice can't thrive because they inevitably make mistakes that cost games. Rare is the player on a Parcells team who plays on Sunday after missing practice Wednesday and Thursday, the two heaviest work days during the regular season.
Twice in the last week, Owens has mentioned that he played well in San Francisco the second half of one season without practicing.
Owens, who returned to practice Aug. 16, managed only five practices before saying he aggravated his hamstring because of too many repetitions in practice. Passing game coordinator and receivers coach Todd Haley is responsible for practice repetitions.
"There's no question our best thing to do is get him well," Jones told Ch. 11 after the game. "I want him out there and would've wanted him to make every practice.
"I understand that, and everyone else does, too. He wants to be out there, too. ... I know this: When he's healthy, he's going to help us win these ballgames."
Since the Cowboys signed him in March to a three-year, $25 million deal, including $10 million in signing bonus and salary this year, Owens has talked about learning from his mistakes and being a better teammate.
Philadelphia suspended and deactivated him for the final nine games of last season before releasing him in March. Less than a week later, he signed with Dallas.
Owens has made an effort to fit in. He met the team's chartered flight when it arrived at Point Mugu for training camp, greeting teammates with hugs and handshakes. He also threw a barbecue for teammates on their first off day of training camp.
Owens' combination of size (6-3, 226 pounds) and speed makes him one of the NFL's most gifted players. His attitude and conflicts with teammates in San Francisco and Philadelphia have made him one of the league's most notorious players.
He can be combustible.
But Jones has said he doesn't think a serious problem will develop between Owens and Parcells – two strong-willed men who like confrontation – because they will manage their relationship carefully.
Time will tell if the cracks can be fixed.
E-mail jjtaylor@dallasnews.com
Some of Terrell Owens' comings and goings since the start of training camp:
July 26: Drives from Los Angeles to greet team at Naval Air Station Point Mugu
July 28: One of four people named as a witness to a June 10 bar fight in Dallas
July 29: Last player on the field for first practice before a record crowd of 5,500
Aug. 2: Misses first practice with sore hamstring
Aug. 4: MRI conducted on left hamstring
Aug. 5: Misses scrimmage
Aug. 7: Fan accuses T.O. of faking injury while he signs autographs
Aug. 7: Says he's flying three of his own medical professionals and his hyperbaric chamber to help heal him and rules himself out for preseason opener
Aug. 9: Wears a blue Team Discovery cycling jersey and a silver biking helmet on exercise bike, which he's been riding during practice for a week
Aug. 12: Misses preseason opener against Seattle; owner Jerry Jones says Owens needs to learn to practice at 75-80 percent
Aug. 16: Returns to practice
Aug. 19: Ruled out for second preseason game against New Orleans
Aug. 21: Misses New Orleans game
Aug. 22: Says too many practice repetitions aggravated hamstring injury and misses practice
Aug. 25: Misses meeting and is fined
