KC's Holmes to have more tests before deciding future

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Priest Holmes says he'll undergo two more tests on his neck and spine and then decide whether to resume his record-setting NFL career.

In his first public comments since going on injured reserve, the three-time Pro Bowl running back and holder of the NFL's single-season touchdown mark also knocked down a media report that he had a lump on his spine.

"I do not," he said Thursday.

He said if the two tests show encouraging results, he will rejoin the Chiefs next year and continue a career that has already made him the team's all-time leading rusher

"Why wouldn't I?" he said.

"Pounding is just a part of football. But I love this sport and it's really been very good to me. I'm not one to look 20 or 30 years down the road. I really look at the next two, three, five years. I really see myself playing, hoping the situation with the tests I take in the next 60 days comes back positive. Regardless of that, I still have to sit down and make a decision."

Holmes went on injured reserve on Nov. 9 with head and neck trauma. He saw specialists in California and Florida after sustaining a concussion on Oct. 30 and was told to avoid contact for at least 30 days.

He said there will be more tests in the next few months, and he hopes to return to football. His 27 touchdowns in 2003 are a single-season record and the 66 touchdowns he scored from 2002-04 are the most in any three-year period.

"In the next 60 days I'll be taking two more tests," he said. "And with those tests I believe the right information will be put on the table for me to sit down with my family and decide exactly what I am going to do."

Boldin may return

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Anquan Boldin's storied toughness has been tested again this year, most recently by a bruised knee.

But the fact he's back after sitting out just two games may be a sign the third-year wide receiver's luck is changing.

Boldin worked out with his Arizona Cardinals teammates Thursday, his first full practice with the team since before a road game against Dallas on Oct. 30. All that week, Boldin struggled with pain in his right knee, and he took his himself out in the fourth quarter when it really began to hurt.

At the time, coach Dennis Green feared the damage was torn meniscus, but two MRI examinations found only a deep bone bruise. Doctors recommended two weeks of rest, so Boldin sat out losses to Seattle and Detroit.

"He went from questionable to probable," Green said about Boldin's problem-free workout Thursday.

Boldin was all smiles coming off the practice field and didn't expect recurring problems.

"I did everything that the coaches asked me to do, as well as the trainers," he said. "They wanted me to rest it, so that's what I did. The only thing I did was ride the bike. I didn't do any running on it, because I was trying to speak to the doctors' orders.

"I took another MRI on Monday, and they gave me the OK to go out and test it."

The former high school quarterback will find out Sunday if his knee will hold up in competition.

The Cardinals (2-7) need to beat the Rams in St. Louis to stop their three-game losing streak and have a chance to finish the season in style.

-- From wire reports