A Look Back: Priest Holmes

By: Stephen Patterson


In the first ever edition of "A Look Back", I will take a look at the career of one of the NFL's best running backs of the past decade. Hopefully, "A Look Back" will become a common feature I write on our site highlighting the careers of some of my favorite athletes, random players, and fan picks. This edition's topic is Priest Holmes, who played in the NFL from 1997-2007 with the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. While in the NFL, Holmes posted career stats of 8,172 yards rushing with a 4.6 yards per carry and 94 touchdowns.

Holmes signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 1997 as an undrafted free agent out of Texas. Holmes put up decent numbers with the Ravens, but only started for two seasons there. In his third and final season with Baltimore, Holmes was the back up for rookie Jamal Lewis. The 1999-2000 Ravens team, also featuring superstar Ray Lewis, went on to win the Super Bowl that season. This would be Holmes' only Super Bowl ring while he was in the NFL.

After the 2000 season, Priest signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and quickly became one of the team's most popular players. In his first season with the team, Holmes rushed for 1,555 yards, leading the NFL in that catagory. During his third season with Kansas City, he rushed for 1,615 yards and 21 touchdowns. He ended that season with a total of 27 touchdowns, at the time breaking Marshall Faulk's record for single season touchdowns. This would also be his second consecutive season rushing for over 20 touchdowns, a feat only matched by Emmitt Smith in NFL history.

In 2004, Holmes was on pace for a third consecutive 20 touchdown season with 14 touchdowns before going down with a knee injury. This would be the first major injury that would hamper Holmes and the beginning of a painful cycle. On October 30, 2005, Holmes suffered a major neck injury as a result of a hit by San Deigo Chargers linemen Shawne Merriman. Following Holmes injury, Larry Johnson would take over the running back duties for the Chiefs.

Following his neck injury, Priest Holmes tried unsuccessfully to make a real comeback in the NFL with the Chiefs. On November 18, 2007, following a game against the Indianapolis Colts, Holmes announced his retirement from the NFL because of his injured neck. At the time of his retirement, he was the Chiefs all-time leader in rushes (1,275), rush yards (5,933), and touchdowns (83). If Holmes hadn't been injured by Merriman's hit, he could've added a lot more to those numbers with Kansas City. At the time of his injury, Holmes was still one of the most popular backs in the NFL and was still one of the most popular players in Chief's history.