WIndshield 1996 Cherokee sport

I have a 1996 Cherokee sport.. The other day I noticed a crack at the top of the windshield on the passenger side... Nothing struck the window and there is no chips on it but along the roof just over the window there is some fairly heavy surface rust... Could this cause the windshield to crack? If I replace the window will it just crack again? I was wondering if this is a common problem before i go dumping money into this kid

Speaking as body man not Jeep guru. The rust could be the reason. I would go ahead and get the windshield replaced. Call the glass company of your choice and see if they will remove it and come back a few days later to reinstall. They might charge a bit more but during that time you can do something about the rust. The correct way would be to sand blast etc. but you would most likelybe OK just gind it and paint it with some POR 15. If there is a hole there you should weld a patch but the age of the vehicle you would be OK stuff it with some short strand fiberglass body filler and sand it flat.