At several points this offseason, there have been positive developments regarding Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes’ recovery from the Lisfranc injury that wiped out his 2012 season.
Most recently, those developments have included Holmes running routes on the field before the Jets faced the Giants last weekend, his activation from the PUP list and his return to practice on Monday. But, like most of the other times there’s been a positive turn, Holmes pulled the reins on Tuesday when he was asked about his progress.
Holmes, who insisted he isn’t downplaying his progress, said he’s feeling better and “hopeful” about Week One, but that there was still no timetable for him to ramp things up to full speed because he has “a lot of steps to continue making” before he’s ready for that. This week has been about gauging what he can do on the field and what he needs to do to keep his foot feeling good enough for him to keep working, and Holmes reiterated that he isn’t going to be rushing back before he’s fully recovered.
“I have a long career ahead of me, so I’m going to take the best risk and the best chances for myself and for the team,” Holmes said in comments distributed by the team.
It’s tempting to say that what’s best for Holmes, who will likely be a free agent after the season, and what’s best for the Jets are at opposition, but the Jets wouldn’t get much benefit from bringing Holmes back quickly only to see him hurt a couple of games later. They need as much Holmes on offense this season as possible, although it remains unlikely they’ll get any until positive reports about Holmes are met with positivity from the man himself.