Chiefs will complete season with Holmes on injured list

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Priest Holmes, who was leading the NFL in scoring and rushing when he injured his knee in early November, was placed on injured reserve Thursday and will miss the rest of the season.

The Kansas City Chiefs indicated Wednesday they would probably finish the year without their star running back, whose recovery from sprained knee ligaments has gone much more slowly than the team had hoped.

"Priest Holmes is making steady progress on the rehabilitation of his right knee," Chiefs president Carl Peterson said in a statement. "Unfortunately, that rehabilitation is taking longer than originally anticipated, meaning Priest is running out of time to be healthy enough to play in 2004."

Holmes was injured on what appeared to be a routine tackle at Tampa Bay on Nov. 7.

The Chiefs (4-8) have been eliminated from playoff contention and will have only three games left after Monday night's game at Tennessee.