Say goodnight to Priest Holmes.
Priest Holmes, the Kansas City Chiefs' star running back who last year set an NFL record with 27 touchdowns, was placed on injured reserve Thursday, making him ineligible to return this year.
Holmes, who leads the league with 15 touchdowns despite missing the past four games, has been sidelined with a sprained ligament in his right knee -- an injury incurred in a Nov. 7 loss to Tampa Bay.
A week ago on his website Holmes apologized to fantasy football fans for missing time and said he didn't expect to return this year. He later retracted the second half of that statement, and the item was pulled down.
Apparently, Holmes knew something others did not.
The Chiefs indicated Wednesday they would probably finish the year without Holmes, whose recovery from sprained knee ligaments has gone much more slowly than the team hoped.
"Priest Holmes is making steady progress on the rehabilitation of his right knee," Chiefs president Carl Peterson said in a statement. "Unfortunately, that rehabilitation is taking longer than originally anticipated, meaning Priest is running out of time to be healthy enough to play in 2004."
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=150 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD width=150>
</TD><TD width=15></TD></TR><TR><TD width=150>Priest Holmes was named NFL player of the month for October after scoring nine TDs. (Getty Images) </TD><TD width=15></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The Chiefs (4-8) have been eliminated from playoff contention and will have only three games left after Monday night's game at Tennessee.
The Chiefs, 1-3 without Holmes, are expected to start Derrick Blaylock in his absence. But look for Larry Johnson, who ran for 118 yards in last week's defeat of Oakland, to see significant action, too. Blaylock becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season, and the club is interested in getting a read on Johnson, its first pick in the 2003 draft.
Until this season Holmes had not missed significant time with the Chiefs. In his previous three seasons he was sidelined for only the final two games of the 2002 season with a right hip injury that required offseason surgery.
"Upon conversation with Priest, our team doctors and medical staff, we have made the decision to place Priest on injured reserve," Peterson said. "Our team doctors and medical personnel expect Priest to make a full recovery and to be 100 percent for the 2005 season."
Holmes was the NFL's player of the month for October, when he had three 100-yard rushing games, rushed for nine touchdowns and caught 10 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. That put him on pace to be the first NFL player to score 20 or more touchdowns rushing in three consecutive seasons.
He ends 2004 with 892 yards rushing on 196 carries, with 15 touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 187 yards and one score. His season highlight came in the Chiefs' 56-10 win over Atlanta, when Holmes scored four of the Chiefs' NFL-record eight TDs rushing.
On Tuesday, coach Dick Vermeil raised for the first time the possibility Holmes would miss the rest of the year.
"I don't want Priest Holmes to feel pressure, because the most important thing is that he heals properly so he can come back and be 100 percent next year," Vermeil said. "If it means sitting out (the season) and that's the best thing to do, that's exactly what we'll do."
Priest Holmes, the Kansas City Chiefs' star running back who last year set an NFL record with 27 touchdowns, was placed on injured reserve Thursday, making him ineligible to return this year.
Holmes, who leads the league with 15 touchdowns despite missing the past four games, has been sidelined with a sprained ligament in his right knee -- an injury incurred in a Nov. 7 loss to Tampa Bay.
A week ago on his website Holmes apologized to fantasy football fans for missing time and said he didn't expect to return this year. He later retracted the second half of that statement, and the item was pulled down.
Apparently, Holmes knew something others did not.
The Chiefs indicated Wednesday they would probably finish the year without Holmes, whose recovery from sprained knee ligaments has gone much more slowly than the team hoped.
"Priest Holmes is making steady progress on the rehabilitation of his right knee," Chiefs president Carl Peterson said in a statement. "Unfortunately, that rehabilitation is taking longer than originally anticipated, meaning Priest is running out of time to be healthy enough to play in 2004."
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=150 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD width=150>
The Chiefs, 1-3 without Holmes, are expected to start Derrick Blaylock in his absence. But look for Larry Johnson, who ran for 118 yards in last week's defeat of Oakland, to see significant action, too. Blaylock becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season, and the club is interested in getting a read on Johnson, its first pick in the 2003 draft.
Until this season Holmes had not missed significant time with the Chiefs. In his previous three seasons he was sidelined for only the final two games of the 2002 season with a right hip injury that required offseason surgery.
"Upon conversation with Priest, our team doctors and medical staff, we have made the decision to place Priest on injured reserve," Peterson said. "Our team doctors and medical personnel expect Priest to make a full recovery and to be 100 percent for the 2005 season."
Holmes was the NFL's player of the month for October, when he had three 100-yard rushing games, rushed for nine touchdowns and caught 10 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. That put him on pace to be the first NFL player to score 20 or more touchdowns rushing in three consecutive seasons.
He ends 2004 with 892 yards rushing on 196 carries, with 15 touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 187 yards and one score. His season highlight came in the Chiefs' 56-10 win over Atlanta, when Holmes scored four of the Chiefs' NFL-record eight TDs rushing.
On Tuesday, coach Dick Vermeil raised for the first time the possibility Holmes would miss the rest of the year.
"I don't want Priest Holmes to feel pressure, because the most important thing is that he heals properly so he can come back and be 100 percent next year," Vermeil said. "If it means sitting out (the season) and that's the best thing to do, that's exactly what we'll do."
