KC-TBB
11-28-2006, 10:50 AM
PUP activation deadline may stop Holmes returnBy Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
Time officially expires Tuesday on Priest Holmes' attempt to return for the final portion of the 2006 season and, barring a miraculous recovery, the Kansas City Chiefs' tailback will not make it back onto the field this year.
Holmes
If ever.
Tuesday afternoon marks the deadline for teams to elevate players currently on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) to the active, 53-man roster. And while Holmes is said to have made good progress recently in recovering from the neck injury that has sidelined him for more than a year, there are no indications he is sufficiently recovered to rejoin the Chiefs for the final five games of the season.
The most notable other PUP player eligible to return Tuesday is Houston Texans second-year return specialist Jerome Mathis, a Pro Bowl performer as a rookie in 2005. Mathis has been on the physically unable to perform list since training camp because of foot surgery. His progress has been inconsistent since he returned to practice three weeks ago.
Kansas City officials informed the NFL on Nov. 7 that they had started the clock on the three-week evaluation window permitted for players who began the season on the PUP list. The Chiefs delayed until the last possible day permissible to make that move, but now the three-week window expires Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
The difference between Holmes and other PUP players leaguewide, though, is that the Chiefs are going to have to make a decision on their former Pro Bowl tailback without having seen him on the practice field. Holmes has not been with the team since training camp, hasn't practiced since before the head and neck injury that sidelined him more than a year ago, and has been working out on his own in San Antonio, his home town.
The consensus three weeks ago was that the Chiefs were merely buying time, and delaying the inevitable, and will be forced to officially end Holmes' 2006 comeback hopes on Tuesday. Even if that occurs, sources close to Holmes said that he does not plan to retire, and actually hopes to be in training camp next summer.
"I mentioned at the beginning of the season that we were going to keep this window open as long as possible," Chiefs president Carl Peterson said Nov. 7. "If we can keep this window open through 12 weeks [of the season], we're benefited by that."
It is believed that Holmes has yet to be cleared to return to practice by any of the specialists with whom he has visited.
Holmes, 33, has spent the season in San Antonio, away from the team, so that he would not be a distraction. There have been disparate reports over the first two months of the season about the state of his conditioning and his workout regimen. He has not played since suffering severe neck and head trauma in a head-to-head collision with San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman last Oct. 30.
Peterson said that Holmes is "making progress" in his recovery.
It appears that Holmes, who has appeared in only 15 games over the last two seasons, first because of a career-threatening hip injury in 2004 and then last year's head-and-neck trauma, is prepared to abide by the various specialists' verdict on his football future. For the most part, he has been treated by Dr. Robert Watkins, a renowned Los Angeles-based specialist.
Watkins has cautioned Holmes about the potential long-term ramifications of another back or neck injury.
In his first three seasons in Kansas City (2001-03), after signing as an unrestricted free agent, Holmes averaged 1,530 yards and 18.7 rushing touchdowns. In the past two seasons, though, the nine-year veteran totaled 1,343 yards and 20 touchdowns. In 2005, he ran for only 451 yards, his lowest output since his 1997 rookie season in Baltimore.
One of the game's top all-around tailbacks, Holmes has carried 1,734 times for 8,035 yards and 86 touchdowns in 109 games. He also has 334 receptions for 2,945 yards and eight touchdowns.
Senior writer Len Pasquarelli covers the NFL for ESPN.com.
ESPN.com
Time officially expires Tuesday on Priest Holmes' attempt to return for the final portion of the 2006 season and, barring a miraculous recovery, the Kansas City Chiefs' tailback will not make it back onto the field this year.
Holmes
If ever.
Tuesday afternoon marks the deadline for teams to elevate players currently on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) to the active, 53-man roster. And while Holmes is said to have made good progress recently in recovering from the neck injury that has sidelined him for more than a year, there are no indications he is sufficiently recovered to rejoin the Chiefs for the final five games of the season.
The most notable other PUP player eligible to return Tuesday is Houston Texans second-year return specialist Jerome Mathis, a Pro Bowl performer as a rookie in 2005. Mathis has been on the physically unable to perform list since training camp because of foot surgery. His progress has been inconsistent since he returned to practice three weeks ago.
Kansas City officials informed the NFL on Nov. 7 that they had started the clock on the three-week evaluation window permitted for players who began the season on the PUP list. The Chiefs delayed until the last possible day permissible to make that move, but now the three-week window expires Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
The difference between Holmes and other PUP players leaguewide, though, is that the Chiefs are going to have to make a decision on their former Pro Bowl tailback without having seen him on the practice field. Holmes has not been with the team since training camp, hasn't practiced since before the head and neck injury that sidelined him more than a year ago, and has been working out on his own in San Antonio, his home town.
The consensus three weeks ago was that the Chiefs were merely buying time, and delaying the inevitable, and will be forced to officially end Holmes' 2006 comeback hopes on Tuesday. Even if that occurs, sources close to Holmes said that he does not plan to retire, and actually hopes to be in training camp next summer.
"I mentioned at the beginning of the season that we were going to keep this window open as long as possible," Chiefs president Carl Peterson said Nov. 7. "If we can keep this window open through 12 weeks [of the season], we're benefited by that."
It is believed that Holmes has yet to be cleared to return to practice by any of the specialists with whom he has visited.
Holmes, 33, has spent the season in San Antonio, away from the team, so that he would not be a distraction. There have been disparate reports over the first two months of the season about the state of his conditioning and his workout regimen. He has not played since suffering severe neck and head trauma in a head-to-head collision with San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman last Oct. 30.
Peterson said that Holmes is "making progress" in his recovery.
It appears that Holmes, who has appeared in only 15 games over the last two seasons, first because of a career-threatening hip injury in 2004 and then last year's head-and-neck trauma, is prepared to abide by the various specialists' verdict on his football future. For the most part, he has been treated by Dr. Robert Watkins, a renowned Los Angeles-based specialist.
Watkins has cautioned Holmes about the potential long-term ramifications of another back or neck injury.
In his first three seasons in Kansas City (2001-03), after signing as an unrestricted free agent, Holmes averaged 1,530 yards and 18.7 rushing touchdowns. In the past two seasons, though, the nine-year veteran totaled 1,343 yards and 20 touchdowns. In 2005, he ran for only 451 yards, his lowest output since his 1997 rookie season in Baltimore.
One of the game's top all-around tailbacks, Holmes has carried 1,734 times for 8,035 yards and 86 touchdowns in 109 games. He also has 334 receptions for 2,945 yards and eight touchdowns.
Senior writer Len Pasquarelli covers the NFL for ESPN.com.