Cowboys DT Jay Ratliff to start season on PUP list

Jay Ratliff will be eligible to return from the PUP list in Week 7. (Getty Images)

The Cowboys have been without Jay Ratliff for nine months. On Tuesday, the team placed him on the Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning the defensive tackle will miss at least the first six weeks of the season as well. The move was anticipated Monday. He will be eligible to return for the Cowboys' Oct. 20 game at Philadelphia.

The Cowboys had hoped Ratliff would be an anchor in the middle of  their switch from the 3-4 to a 4-3 defense under new coordinator Monte Kiffin. That transition has been delayed by a strained hamstring suffered during a training camp conditioning run lingered. Ratliff missed all but six games of the 2012 season due to an ankle injury, a sports hernia and December surgery to correct it.

Ratliff is dealing with challenges off the field, too, facing drunken driving charges from a January arrest. That trial, however, has been scheduled after the 2013 season, likely delaying any NFL discipline.