Chiefs will open against Packers

Kansas City, Green Bay making preseason debuts in Hall of Fame game

? Someday, Brett Favre will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Until then, he’ll settle for playing across the street.

Favre, a three-time NFL MVP, is expected to take fewer than 15 snaps tonight when the Packers open their exhibition season against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game.

The matchup of the two teams from Super Bowl I caps a weekend of festivities highlighted by Sunday’s induction, when former Chiefs coach Hank Stram, running back Marcus Allen and Packers wide receiver James Lofton were enshrined along with Elvin Bethea and Joe DeLamielleure.

With four offensive starters — both tackles and two wide receivers — sidelined by injuries, the Packers do not want to take any chances of Favre getting hurt and will limit his time on the field to two or three series with the first-team offense.

“We will not do anything to get him hit,” Packers offensive coordinator Tom Rossley said. “We will not expose him.”

Although the Packers plan to give Favre an easy night of work, it’s not because the durable QB asked for one.

“I always would like to play more, but we have five (exhibition) games, so there’s no sense of rushing it,” Favre said.

Packers coach Mike Sherman joked that it’s up to Favre to decide how long he stays in the game.

“Three touchdowns would be fine by me. Three plays, three touchdowns, we’ll take him out,” Sherman quipped.

The Packers have been ultra cautious with Favre this summer, hoping to preserve him for the grueling season. He has been given days off to rest his arm as well as a sore right shoulder.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, have been taking a similarly conservative approach with running back Priest Holmes, coming back from a season-ending hip injury in 2002.

Holmes had rushed for 1,615 yards and 24 TDs in an MVP-type season for Kansas City’s high-octane offense when he got hurt and missed the final two games.

Still, Holmes was named the league’s offensive player of the year.

In March, he underwent surgery to remove loose tissue and fragments from his right hip, and last week, he took a few hard hits on the hip during a scrimmage against Minnesota and reported no problems.

The Chiefs allowed Holmes to participate in more drills this past week, and coach Dick Vermeil thinks the All-Pro is ready for the Packers.

“We let him go a couple of snaps (against Minnesota) and he felt good about it and he looked good doing it,” Vermeil said. “He showed that burst, that foot movement. Plus, we’ve got to get him prepared gradually to play in the season opener. He doesn’t need a lot of carries, but he needs some.”

Holmes, who has rushed for 3,170 yards the past two seasons, said the injury was a reminder of how fleeting life in the NFL can be. He has twice come back from knee injuries.

“Sometimes you forget you are a player and injury is always a step away, right on the next side of the hash mark,” Holmes said. “It’s one of those things where although you’re running the ball and you’re thinking as I was thinking, ‘I’m not going to get hurt, I’m about to break some records.’

“Then boom, it happens.”

Holmes has been pleased with his progress this summer, but does not know whether he has returned to elite form just yet. Asked what percent he’s playing at, Holmes was stumped for an answer.

“I couldn’t even gauge it,” he said. “I’d have to ask somebody chasing me.”