CORTLAND – Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes is not sure if he’ll be able to play at all this season.
Holmes, recovering from a foot injury that cost him most of last season and led to two surgeries, would not say he expects to play at all in 2013.
When asked, “Are you sure you’ll play this season?” Holmes responded, “I can’t answer that question.”
That will raise some eyebrows around the Jets, who were hoping Holmes would be back for the beginning of the regular season. Now, it’s sounding like it will be much, much longer.
Holmes, who is on the physically unable to perform list, rode the stationary bike during practice here and worked with the trainers.
“There’s always concern. I feel confident that we will have him. When that is I’m not sure but I feel confident that he’ll be out there,” coach Rex Ryan said.
The mercurial receiver said no one is sure when he will be able to play, including the doctors.
“I want to [play], but I have to do what the foot says to do,” Holmes said. “If it’s not ready to roll, it’s not ready to roll.”
The Jets are extremely thin at wide receiver with a healthy Holmes, nevermind without him. If he is out for an extended period of time or does not return to the player he once was, the Jets are in worse shape offensively than originally thought.
Holmes did say he has done some running outside, a positive step.
“I’ve been done quite a bit of running,” he said. “Everything is straight ahead and as slow as possible. Learning how to walk again, making sure the feet move at the same pace and no setbacks in the future.”
Training camp got off to a rough start for Holmes, who arrived late to Cortland because his car broke down on the way.
Asked if he believes he’ll return to being the same player he was, Holmes said “I can’t worry about that right now.”
As for the Jets, Holmes has high expectations.
“I expect everybody to be a group of guys that push each other to excel,” he said. “We have one goal in mind and that’s to get to the Super Bowl. It’s going to be in our backyard this year.”