Three-time Pro Bowl tailback Priest Holmes, who returned to the field with the Kansas City Chiefs last month following nearly two years of inactivity, has decided to leave the game, and announced his retirement at a Wednesday afternoon news conference.
Holmes, 34, spent the past few days counseling with family members and friends, and speaking with medical experts about a re-occurrence of the neck problems that sidelined him for two years, two sources close to him told ESPN.com on Tuesday night. The decision to retire came after Holmes suffered three hits in last Sunday's game at Indianapolis that left him with some tingling in his extremities.
The Kansas City franchise's all-time leader in total touchdowns (83) and rushing touchdowns (76), Holmes set a then-league record by scoring 27 times in 2003. That record has since been broken.
Holmes spent the final half of the 2005 season on injured reserve and the entire 2006 campaign on the NFL's physically unable to perform list. Because of the head and neck trauma, and a serious hip injury that threatened to end his career in 2004, Holmes has played in only 19 games since the end of the 2003 season.
Holmes stated, "I have truly been blessed with the opportunity to play in the National Football League. I will be forever grateful to the Hunt family and the Chiefs organization for the opportunity to come to Kansas City, where the community embraced me from Day 1."
I want to say Holmes is lying about this statement. After all, this guy WAS treated badly, but then again, his team was only looking out for him and it just so happened Larry Johnson stepped into the picture. Here's a guy who was an amazing rusher for his team, but a series of injuries set him back. So, the Chiefs did what any team would do and that is to get a running back to temporarily replace him. Except, Larry Johnson was so good, that he not only stole Holmes' starring role, but he basically replaced Holmes and Edwards refused to put Holmes back in. In the end, however, that was a good move on Edwards' part because he realized Holmes was too hurt to run full-time and thus the retirement. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, Johnson is having an awful year as well.
Holmes, 34, spent the past few days counseling with family members and friends, and speaking with medical experts about a re-occurrence of the neck problems that sidelined him for two years, two sources close to him told ESPN.com on Tuesday night. The decision to retire came after Holmes suffered three hits in last Sunday's game at Indianapolis that left him with some tingling in his extremities.
The Kansas City franchise's all-time leader in total touchdowns (83) and rushing touchdowns (76), Holmes set a then-league record by scoring 27 times in 2003. That record has since been broken.
Holmes spent the final half of the 2005 season on injured reserve and the entire 2006 campaign on the NFL's physically unable to perform list. Because of the head and neck trauma, and a serious hip injury that threatened to end his career in 2004, Holmes has played in only 19 games since the end of the 2003 season.
Holmes stated, "I have truly been blessed with the opportunity to play in the National Football League. I will be forever grateful to the Hunt family and the Chiefs organization for the opportunity to come to Kansas City, where the community embraced me from Day 1."
I want to say Holmes is lying about this statement. After all, this guy WAS treated badly, but then again, his team was only looking out for him and it just so happened Larry Johnson stepped into the picture. Here's a guy who was an amazing rusher for his team, but a series of injuries set him back. So, the Chiefs did what any team would do and that is to get a running back to temporarily replace him. Except, Larry Johnson was so good, that he not only stole Holmes' starring role, but he basically replaced Holmes and Edwards refused to put Holmes back in. In the end, however, that was a good move on Edwards' part because he realized Holmes was too hurt to run full-time and thus the retirement. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, Johnson is having an awful year as well.
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