RIVER FALLS, Wis. - Priest Holmes remains stuck on the little boys' field with a couple of other physically unable to perform (PUP) players on the Kansas City Chiefs. He still hasn't put on the pads, so he hasn't been hit. Holmes hasn't played pro football in over 22 months, but he wants to make a comeback and says he's working hard. "I'm digging ditches out here," he said. "I'm not eating nachos if that's what you think."
Granted, there remain skeptics on his own team if Holmes can make it all the way back. He's 34 and he left the game because doctors feared he risked paralysis due to a narrowing of his spinal column.
"I wasn't here last year because of the possibility of me being paralyzed," Holmes told FoxSports.com. "But now doctors are telling me that my MRIs are definitely better. That I have improved. But because of malpractice lawsuits they won't tell me it won't happen again. They won't make it 100 percent."
Holmes caught the Chiefs off-guard by asking to come to camp. He and team President Carl Peterson both deny that it's a training-camp ploy to get holdout Larry Johnson back to work. In fact, Holmes admits that LJ is the starter here and that he could end up as a role player. Either way, the Chiefs aren't worried because Michael Bennett, Johnson's backup, has looked phenomenal in camp.
One reason why Holmes showed up here is because, like he said before the television cameras, he had a dream where he was running — not like Forrest Gump — and he figured it had to be football-related.
I don't know how they are interpreting it," Holmes answered. "I'm having a hard time interpreting it myself. I just saw myself running and figured it had to be on a football field."
Holmes says this stuff with a beautiful and genuine smile. He is deadly serious about his intentions. And when he was a full-time player, Holmes was one of the game's brightest stars and a truly good guy. I've never heard anyone say anything negative about him.
Who can forget his 2003 season when he scored 27 touchdowns for the Chiefs?
"I just recently watched highlights of myself," Holmes said. "I couldn't believe half of the things I did. I'd like to see if I could do that stuff again."
Before the end of the month, Holmes and Chiefs should find out whether the comeback will succeed. The third preseason game — Aug. 23 versus the Saints — has been circled. Teams have to cut down to 75 players by Aug. 28 and by September 1 a final decision must be made on what to do with PUP players when rosters are reduced to the final 53.
Right now, Holmes said his muscles and his feet aren't in sync with his mind. He explains it, while tapping in fast cadence on the table that he wants to run for 20 seconds, but his feet only keep going for 15 seconds.
"It's these small details that I have to fix," Holmes said. "I need to program my body and get my mind and muscles on the same page."
That sounds strange, but Holmes claims this is his biggest hurdle. If that doesn't happen, he may never wear shoulder pads and take some legitimate football hits in training camp.
The Chiefs have earmarked $870,000 in salary for Holmes should he actually make the final roster. And that sounds fine with him right now, especially if he's only getting a handful of carries a game. Besides running every day, Holmes is also back lifting, trying to get his shoulder and back muscles where they have to be in order take the punishment. His shirts still don't have that painted on look yet.
If this is it, Holmes will leave and retire for good. There will be no tears. He did that a couple of years ago when he first went to the sidelines, thinking that was his last hurrah.
"I miss walking inside the chalk on the football field," Holmes said, explaining his reason for attempting this comeback. "I can't really say that I missed the guys, that I missed being in training camp. Playing for me meant all these different massage techniques after games. It meant making sure I got rest and watched what I ate and being on a schedule all the time. I can't say I missed all of that. But walking across that chalk line, that's our world and I really missed that."
Holmes has played organized football since Pop Warner for the Trojans at age eight. He says he is motivated by the memory of Earnest Byner, who was the starting back in Baltimore at the age of 35.
"I was young and didn't want to believe that a guy that old could be a better running back that I was," Holmes said. "Byner ended up starting that year and showing me the ropes and I realized there was more to the game than simply being young and fast."
The undrafted free agent out of Texas has always had to overcome obstacles and even the doubt of his head coach.
I had just for rushed for 1,000 yards and I'm thinking I'm finally going to be a full-time starter. But Billick comes in and tells me that I wasn't the type of guy that he pictured being his starting running back. I asked him what is your type?
"He said big backs like Eddie George, Jerome Bettis and Corey Dillon," Holmes recalled ... So the Ravens drafted Jamal Lewis and I did everything I could to support Jamal. Made him watch film on Thursday nights and also made sure he picked up the dinner checks being a first-round pick."
Holmes eventually found his starting role in Kansas City. Over five seasons, he rushed for 5,933 yards and scored 83 touchdowns. Finishing his career with the Chiefs is the only end Holmes can imagine.
"There have been too many times when coaches have told me that I don't really belong here ... I'm not interested in trying anywhere else. I'm either going to play for Kansas City or no one. Dick Vermeil and the late Lamar Hunt were so good to me."
