RAND: Holmes Paints A Bleak Picture

Jul 11, 2006, 5:35:04 AM by Jonathan Rand - FAQ

It doesn’t sound as if we’ll be seeing Priest Holmes in pads again. That’s what the best running back in Chiefs’ history implied Saturday.

We all know it can be premature to doubt Holmes’ ability to rebound from serious injuries, as he did from a hip injury suffered in 2002 and a knee injury suffered in 2004. But now it’s Holmes expressing doubts — a clear departure from his customary iron-willed optimism.

Holmes told Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News that if he’s not medically cleared to play, he has nothing left to prove.

“I don’t think anybody’s going to feel like they got gypped,” Holmes said. “I think I gave everybody their money’s worth.”

He explained that his neck injury, suffered last October 30 at San Diego, has prevented him from working out as he usually does during the off-season. So even in the best-case scenario, Holmes is a long way from playing shape as the Chiefs near training camp.

“Everything is on hold,” he said.

Holmes usually is tight-lipped about his injuries while staying home in San Antonio during the off-season. Trying to predict his playing future often has been like reading tea leaves. But his remarks over the weekend were uncharacteristically blunt.

Holmes said he’s like to keep playing but that he’ll heed the advice of Dr. Robert Watkins, a Los Angeles spinal specialist who’s warned him about the dangers of re-injuring his neck.

“It’s not what it will do to me today,” Holmes, 32, said. “It’s what it will do when I’m 40 or 50.”

For anyone seeking a hint that Holmes might yet return, he alluded to his history of bouncing back from previous injuries.

“I know it sounds funny to say it, but I’ve had the luxury of being injured before,” he said. “Most people don’t see that as a luxury. But at least I know what to expect.”

The blow of Holmes’ retirement, obviously, would be softened for the Chiefs by Larry Johnson’s emergence as one of the NFL’s top running backs. But they’d be left without an established backup, and Holmes’ ability to complete just one of his last four seasons speaks loudly to the hazards of running the ball in the NFL.

Chiefs’ fans have developed a soft spot for Holmes because of his dazzling and dominating performances, his soft-spoken nature and ability to create constant excitement as a runner and receiver during a stretch in which the Chiefs made just one playoff appearance. And his 5-foot-9 frame cast him as somewhat of an underdog.

Holmes’ hip injury was enough of a threat to his career that the Chiefs passed on their defensive needs and used their first-round pick in 2003 for Johnson. That decision, which was second-guessed when Holmes returned good as new, has turned into a stroke of genius.

If Holmes retires now, he’ll leave as the top back in Chiefs history and, for a stretch, one of the best in NFL history. In his first three seasons here, from 2001 to 2003, he rushed for 4,590 yards and 56 touchdowns, including a record-breaking 27 touchdowns in 2003.

Yet, Chiefs fans never really got to know Holmes as well as most of the team’s other stars. He’s been a man of many yards but of very few words. Which is why his latest remarks come as such a bombshell.

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

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A former sportswriter and columnist in Kansas City and Miami, Rand has covered the NFL for three decades and seen 23 Super Bowl games. His column appears twice weekly in-season.