Publication: KCChiefs.com
Date: February 15, 2008
Kansas City Chiefs President Carl Peterson announced on Friday that the club will honor three-time Pro Bowl RB Priest Holmes during a retirement ceremony during a 2008 home game. This will afford Chiefs fans an opportunity to pay a finale tribute to Holmes, who enjoyed a record-setting career during his tenure in Kansas City. The Chiefs officially placed Holmes on the Reserve/Retired List on Friday.
“Priest was a major contributor to this franchise from the first day he joined us,” Peterson commented. “The host of NFL and Chiefs offensive records he set make him among the finest running backs who have ever graced the field in Kansas City. We will give our fans the opportunity to recognize his outstanding contributions at some point during the 2008 season. Priest will certainly receive consideration for the Chiefs Hall of Fame in the future.”
Holmes played in 65 regular season games with 63 starts for Kansas City. He was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press after producing 1,615 rushing yards in 14 games in 2002. Holmes became just the third Chiefs player to lead the league in rushing when he racked up 1,555 yards during his debut campaign with Kansas City in 2001. In addition to his rushing exploits, Holmes also caught 246 passes for 2,360 yards (9.6 avg.) with seven TDs. He ranks first in team history with 1,521 touches from scrimmage and is second in team annals with 24 career 100-yard rushing games.
Holmes owns a host of Chiefs single-season records, including marks for points (162 in 2003), receptions by a running back (74 in 2003) and yards from scrimmage (2,287 in 2002). In total, Holmes saw action in 113 career regular season games (82 starts) with Baltimore (’97-00) and Kansas City (2001-07), carrying the ball 1,780 times for 8,172 yards (4.6 avg.) with 86 TDs and caught 339 passes for 2,962 yards (8.7 avg.) with eight scores.
