Chiefs’ Holmes likely finished

Kansas City RB on 'physically unable to perform list'

? The odds of seeing Priest Holmes on the field this season got much longer Monday when the Kansas City Chiefs put the three-time Pro Bowl running back on the “physically unable to perform” list.

Holmes missed the last nine games of the 2005 season after taking a hard hit from San Diego’s Shawne Merriman that caused trauma to the head and neck, and doctors still have not given him medical clearance to practice or play.

“Obviously, he’s not prepared to play at this point,” coach Herm Edwards said. “You never know where his career’s at right now. Only he knows that. That’s between he and the doctor.”

While Holmes was gone, third-year running back Larry Johnson took his job with a spectacular nine-game spurt that ended in a team-record 1,750-yard rushing season.

Under league rules, Holmes will be on the PUP list a minimum of six weeks, and then the Chiefs will have 21 days to activate him.

Edwards declined to speculate on whether Holmes was at the end of a career which has seen him rush for a club-record 5,933 yards and, in 2003, an NFL-record 27 touchdowns.

“I don’t ever say no to those guys,” Edwards said. “I just sit and wait until they decide what they want to do.”

Among the players waived Monday was former Kansas University standout Nick Reid, a linebacker who was named by coaches last year as the Big 12 Conference defensive player of the year. Reid, signed as an undrafted rookie free agent, had trouble getting on the field the first three preseason games because the Chiefs are crowded with linebackers.

“He was a heck of a college player, and he got better,” Edwards said. “It’s a veteran group of linebackers. They’ve been here. So they had a little edge on him.”

Edwards said he was confident Reid would get an opportunity with some other team, and could even wind up one day with Kansas City.

“A lot of things could happen. Injuries come into play when you cut players now. He has some ability. He could show up on a practice squad, too,” Edwards said.

Also waived were wide receivers Kyle Brown, Darrell Hill, Scott McCready and Craphonso Thorpe, cornerbacks Justin Perkins and Jerald Brown, quarterback Jeff Smoker, guards Steve Franklin, Peter Heyer and Tyler Lenda, tight ends Adam Johnson and Robert Docherty and defensive tackle Aarion Dixon.

Also placed on PUP was safety William Bartee.