Robert Quinn is a first-teamer and back with Cowboys - after taking his work home with him

FRISCO - Robert Quinn being on suspension meant, by NFL rule, he couldn't haul himself into The Star. So instead, he hauled part of The Star home with him.

Quinn, once upon a time the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, is preparing to make his Dallas debut this Sunday against the same Miami Dolphins team that traded him to the Cowboys for a sixth-round pick last March. Quinn told me that during his suspension he took home with him his helmet and shoulder pads and worked out while wearing them daily.

Sources tell me he's been practicing with the first-team defense this week and that he is penciled in to do the same on Sunday.

Meanwhile, he told the media this week he's trying to avoid the "hype'' that naturally goes along with such a matchup.

“I don’t want overwork myself, overhype myself,'' he said after Wednesday's practice, his first workout with his new team since training camp, which also ended early for him due to a broken hand. "It’s a football game. As a team, we want to do one thing and that’s win. As a player and individual we’ve got individual game goals, but at the end of the day it just comes down to winning as a team.”

Miami is struggling to do that right now, as the 0-2 Dolphins are 21-point underdogs for the upcoming game at AT&T Stadium. Meanwhile, Quinn joins a club on a roll. The Cowboys released former first-round draft pick Taco Charlton on Wednesday to make room on the 53-man roster for Quinn, who spent the first two games on the Reserve/Suspended list for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances, something he strongly denied being guilty of the suspension came down in early March.

Dallas is 2-0, and with defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford (hip) among the ailing, the timing of the return of the two-time Pro Bowler Quinn is ideal.

“He’s a really good player. He’s a very good pass rusher. He’s demonstrated that throughout his career and he’s a really willing run defender. He’s been really active doing that again throughout his career. Sometimes those guys are viewed as, ‘Hey, I just get the quarterback and let the other guys do the dirty work,’ but he’s demonstrated that he’s willing to defend blocks, do a good job defending his gaps and going and making plays on the ball in the running game. So we’re excited to get him back in here.”

In practice, Quinn is apparently wearing a padded/braced glove to protect the surgically-repaired hand.

Quinn was not allowed to be at Cowboys headquarters or have contact with the team during his suspension (one of the NFL's most back-ass-ward rules). So he worked out on his own, every morning, with the help of the equipment he took home.

He suggested that if the Cowboys require him to carry a full load this weekend, he would do so. That probably won't be necessary; coordinator Rod Marinelli favors rotating his D-linemen. Quinn said his goal is a team-oriented one.

“Just get a W for the team,” he said. “I (won't) try to make things more than what it is. Me just coming back, the team is doing well. So I’m coming back just trying to contribute as best as I could.''