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Holmes’ out 6 weeks, career with Chiefs in doubt KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Priest Holmes, who hasn’t practiced at all in training camp, now will miss at least the first six weeks of the regular season and his career is in doubt.

Kansas City put the three-time Pro Bowl running back on the physically unable to perform list Monday. He will be out for a minimum of six weeks, then the Chiefs will have 21 days to activate him.

Holmes, who turns 33 in October, missed the last nine games of the 2005 season after taking a hit from San Diego’s Shawne Merriman that caused trauma to the head and neck, and doctors still haven’t given him medical clearance to practice or play.

“Obviously, he’s not prepared to play at this point,” said coach Herm Edwards. “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, 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 or release him.

Edwards declined to speculate whether Holmes is at the end of a career which has seen him rush for a club-record 5,933 yards and, in 2003, a then 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.”

Quarterbacks

Kerry Collins and Jeff George are back in the NFL.

Collins, who spent the last two seasons with Oakland, signed with Tennessee, which decided it needed more experience after trading away Steve McNair.

Coach Jeff Fisher said Collins met with offensive coordinator Norm Chow for about an hour and would be at practice Tuesday.

Fisher said Billy Volek remains the starter for now, with rookie Vince Young backing him up while Collins learns the offense.

“Billy’s got some competition,” Fisher said. “I’ve spoken with Billy. Billy’s not too awfully pleased with it. But that’s life in the National Football League.”

George, meanwhile, signed with the Raiders, although he hasn’t thrown a regular-season pass in the NFL since 2001.

Both are former first-round draft picks. George was the first overall pick by the Colts in 1990 and Collins was Carolina’s first-ever pick, fifth overall, in 1995.

Collins went 7-21 as the starter in Oakland the past two years, but became a salary cap casualty saving the Raiders $9.2 million.

He completed 302 passes for 3,759 yards in 2005 and 20 touchdowns, but was sacked 39 times and threw 12 interceptions.

The 11-year veteran Collins has started 145 of 152 games and played for Carolina, New Orleans, the New York Giants and Raiders. He has thrown for 33,637 yards, 173 touchdowns and 166 interceptions in a career that includes leading Carolina to an NFC championship game and the Giants to a Super Bowl that they lost to Baltimore.

“This is a team that I feel I can contribute to and make an impact in,” Collins said.

“I’ve had opportunities to go different places. This was the one that I’ve really been targeting. I’m just glad it worked out.”

George played for the Raiders in 1997-98, starting 23 games and throwing 33 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. George played with the Colts from 1990-93.

George was in Atlanta from 1994-96, then spent two seasons with Oakland and one with Minnesota before joining the Redskins in 2000, first as a backup. He was signed by Seattle as insurance midway through the 2002 season, but didn’t play. Chicago signed him late in the 2004 season, but he never played for the Bears either.

Known for his strong arm and clashes with coaches, George has a 46-78 career record as a starter and has never lasted longer than four years with any team.

Jaguars

Running back Greg Jones will be lost for the season, depriving Jacksonville of the main alternative to injury-prone starter Fred Taylor.

Jones was also the starting fullback, forcing the Jaguars to make adjustments at two positions.

Derrick Wimbush will now become the fullback and LaBrandon Toefield will move up to No. 2 running back behind Taylor.

“It’s unfortunate,” coach Jack Del Rio said after tests revealed Jones tore an anterior cruciate ligaments against Tampa Bay on Saturday night. “He’s a great football player. He’s my kind of guy. I have a lot of respect and admiration for the way he plays the game and the way he prepares himself. I can’t say enough about him. He’s a great young man and I know he’ll come back strong. We’re going to miss him.”

Jones sustained a similar injury to his right knee during his final season at Florida State and dropped to the second round in the 2004 draft. He ran 62 times for 162 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie, but was featured more last season. He carried 151 times for 575 yards and four scores.

Dolphins

Even after moving to St. Louis from South Florida, Scott Linehan still finds himself dealing with a hurricane threat.

The Rams’ new coach monitored Tropical Storm Ernesto on Monday, hoping the storm wouldn’t disrupt his team’s final exhibition game Thursday at Miami.

Linehan was the Miami Dolphins’ offensive coordinator last year, when Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma struck South Florida.

“We’re just kind of waiting to see the timing of it,” Linehan said from St. Louis. “If it ends up affecting our travel, I’m sure we’ll adjust our travel.”

The Rams are scheduled to fly to South Florida on Wednesday. Ernesto was forecast to hit South Florida late Tuesday or early Wednesday, possibly as a hurricane.

“At this point, we are planning to play the game as scheduled,” Dolphins president Bryan Wiedmeier said.

Browns

Cornerback Gary Baxter practiced for the first time since straining his left pectoral muscle in an exhibition on Aug. 10 against Philadelphia, and proclaimed himself ready for the Sept. 10 opener against the Saints.

“I’m pushing it as best I can and I felt really good,” Baxter said after coming off the field. “I think, well, I know I will be ready for the first game.”

The Browns are already without cornerback Daylon McCutcheon, their surest tackler and the most experienced player in their secondary. McCutcheon had arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 1 and it’s unclear when he’ll be ready.

Texans

Wide receiver Derick Armstrong and linebacker Barrett Green were among 13 players released.

Armstrong spent the past three seasons in Houston. He appeared in 13 games and had nine catches for 115 yards in 2005. He has 45 receptions for 605 yards and two touchdowns in his career.

Green, a seven-year veteran, had recovered from knee surgery that kept him out of six games in 2004 and all but one game last season and ultimately cost him his job in New York. The Texans became worried about the linebacker’s durability after he struggled with minor injuries, including a pulled groin in camp.

Seahawks

Former Chiefs starting safety Shaunard Harts was among the 15 Seahawks cut.

The Seahawks signed Harts in the offseason in case starting safety Ken Hamlin did not return from a fractured skull and other serious injuries sustained in an October street fight. But Hamlin has been practicing since the first day of training camp and played in each of the team’s three exhibition games without restriction.

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