Priest Holmes Out for Season

Kansas City Chiefs star running back Priest Holmes will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Holmes, who was leading the NFL in scoring and rushing when he got hurt Nov. 7, was placed on injured reserve Thursday but will not require surgery.

"It was the best thing to do for Priest Holmes and his future," coach Dick Vermeil said. "I think he'll be 100 percent within a month, two months at least."

Vermeil said Holmes might have remained on the roster if the Chiefs (4-8) were headed for the playoffs. But he had already been declared out for Monday night's game at Tennessee, and the Chiefs will play only three more times after that.

"The rehab is taking longer and with the season only four weeks to go and Priest feeling the pressure to get ready to play...obviously he wasn't going to be able to," Vermeil said. "There was some talk that in a couple of weeks he might start practicing with a brace on the knee."

"But we aren't going to do that to Priest Holmes."

Holmes was injured on what appeared to be a routine tackle at Tampa Bay, forcing an early end to what was shaping up as a terrific year.

He had been 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.