ESPN NFL

Updated: September 5, 2003, 5:50 PM ET

RBs usually lose luster at age 30

The Chiefs signed Priest Holmes to a contract extension, a big gamble since he's about to turn 30.

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By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
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LANDOVER, Md. -- Here's hoping the first impression of New York Jets tailback Curtis Martin, the one drawn during the Thursday night loss to the Washington Redskins here, is not the one with which we conclude his ninth league season.

In rushing for just 48 yards on 15 carries, Martin, now age 30, appeared tardy to the hole. His longest run, on the opening play of the second half, was for 12 yards. He had 10 runs that netted three yards or fewer. Six rushes were for two yards or less. The sharpness and the power that had marked most of his previous eight campaigns seemed absent.

Of course, Martin had little assistance from his offensive line, or from a passing attack that all evening eschewed the attempted vertical strike. We're not about to shovel dirt on the career of the wondrously talented but characteristically underrated Martin, a native of my home city. A guy who played at my alma mater and a class act all the way.

But having logged an average of 325.5 carries per year, and an average of 372 "touches" since 1995, Martin has put a lot of mileage on his two powerful legs. And in '02, those legs argued back with him, as he hobbled through ankle injuries, yet somehow managed still to crack the 1,000-yard milestone for an eighth consecutive year.

But the truth of the matter for Martin, and for virtually every other tailback, is that things usually aren't the same once you get on the wrong side of 30. The litany of tailbacks who ran for 1,000 yards after turning 30 would not take long to recite. And while the league has witnessed a sort of "graying" of the tailback position in recent seasons, reaching the three-decade marker characteristically means a tailback is also reaching the beginning of the end.

Certainly history has indicated that age 30, and sometimes even earlier than that, begins a running back's football dotage.

Which brings us, in a painstakingly convoluted fashion, to Kansas City premier tailback Priest Holmes. This week Chiefs management deservedly rewarded him with a four-year contract extension that prolongs his relationship with one of the game's class franchises through the 2009 campaign. Holmes, of course, has led the league in total yards from scrimmage each of the last two seasons.

What most stories about his extension failed to note was that Holmes, who realized about $27.8 million in so-called "new money" with the extension, will turn 30 on Oct. 7. In fact, he is only five months younger than Martin, although his body has absorbed far less punishment than that inflicted on the Jets star. Not until the past two seasons did Holmes ever tote the ball more than 233 times in a campaign. Over his career, Holmes has averaged 183.2 rushes per year and 219.8 "touches" per season. There appears to be, now that Holmes seems to have settled all questions about his surgically repaired hip, a lot of gas left in the tank.

But with running backs, you never know when they will lose that critical half-step, and it can happen virtually overnight in some cases. Which begs the question of just how much will Holmes see of the $35.3 million he is scheduled to earn over the next seven seasons?

It was, of course, a very savvy deal. Chiefs president and general manager Carl Peterson has never been accused of just falling off the turnip truck. He and the Chiefs did a classy thing by rewarding Holmes, who had outplayed the five-year, $8.4 million deal that he had signed with Kansas City as a free agent in 2001, with a contract more commensurate to the player's production. Holmes is the team's offensive centerpiece, a player around whom everything else revolves, and he is now paid like one. The Chiefs certainly were under no obligation to upgrade the contract, but did so anyway -- in a wise manner.

With an extension, not a new contract the new deal actually saved the Chiefs salary cap room in 2003, with Holmes' charge going from a scheduled $2.618 million to just $1.454 million. Even next year, the increase in the cap charge is negligible, just $192,000.

	Side Lines
	On-Line It's not like Barry Stokes has never played left tackle before. But he hasn't played it in a while and, in moving from left guard to replace the injured Ross Verba (torn biceps) for the entire season now, the Cleveland Browns veteran had better re-learn the position pretty quickly. On Sunday, he draws the rather unenviable assignment of trying to keep in check Indianapolis Colts second-year defensive end Dwight Freeney, a human blur who registered 13 sacks as a rookie. Freeney is only about 265 pounds, but is one of the NFL's most explosive upfield defenders and has incredible closing speed to the quarterback. He is notably quicker on artificial surfaces, but he won't lose much playing on the Cleveland Stadium grass. The last thing that the Browns want is to have new starter Kelly Holcomb harassed in the pocket all day. Stokes isn't as good as Verba, but he's been very solid on those occasions in the past when he played tackle, and he'll have to be even better than that in this week's matchup.
	The List Wide receiver Curtis Conway is in his 11th season and, after starting Thursday night for the New York Jets, he has now played with 11 different starting quarterbacks in season openers. The list:
	Season	Team	QB
	2003	Jets	Vinny Testaverde
	2002	Chargers	Drew Brees
	2001	Chargers	Doug Flutie
	2000	Chargers	Ryan Leaf
	1999	Bears	Shane Matthews
	1998	Bears	Steve Stenstrom
	1997	Bears	Rick Mirer
	1996	Bears	Dave Krieg
	1995	Bears	Steve Walsh
	1994	Bears	Erik Kramer
	1993	Bears	Jim Harbaugh
	Stat of the Week Much was made this week of the fact that five teams are carrying just two quarterbacks on their active rosters. In what could become an increasing trend, aimed at keeping some position players on the roster, look for even more franchises to consider it in 2004. Fact is, while the perception is that teams must have two competent quarterbacks, there was a dropoff in 2002 on the number of pass attempts by non-starters. Consider this: Pittsburgh wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, a former college quarterback, had eight pass attempts in 2002. That is more pass attempts than the No. 2 quarterbacks for nine teams registered. The group of No. 2 quarterbacks that includes Alex Van Pelt (Buffalo), Jesse Palmer (New York Giants), Tony Banks (Houston), Brock Huard (Indianapolis), Damon Huard (New England), Todd Collins (Kansas City), Marques Tuiasosopo (Oakland), Todd Bouman (Minnesota) and Neil O'Donnell (Tennessee) averaged just 2.5 attempts.
	Stat of the Weak St. Louis Rams starting wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt have an aggregate 925 career receptions. The team's four backup wide receivers -- Kevin Curtis, Mike Furrey, Dane Looker and Shaun McDonald -- have combined for zero career catches.
	The Last Word Springs Seattle cornerback Shawn Springs, after suffering a broken right shoulder blade that will sideline him for 6-8 weeks, was added to his lengthy injury dossier: "Every time I put on the damn uniform, something bad happens. I try to get away from (the injuries), but it didn't work out. I said to be myself, 'Man, this can't be real.' "

For his part, Holmes pockets a $1.65 million signing bonus now, and another "option" bonus of $8.475 million next spring, although $3.475 million of that is deferred to 2005 and 2006. Instead of earning $7.5 million over the next three seasons, Holmes will take home $14.55 million. Any time you nearly double the take, you can't be too unhappy with the results, right?

And Holmes, who declared himself "the happiest guy around," certainly isn't saddened by landing the contract upgrade he sought.

But by the end of the 2005 season, Holmes will be closing in on 33, and probably closing in as well on the end of his career. Chances are, Holmes won't see about $20 million of the $35.3 million that's in the contract. Then again, by that time, neither Holmes nor the Chiefs will think much of it, since both will have gotten what they wanted. The Chiefs will probably have to eat some "acceleration" on future spending limits, but such is life in the NFL in the era of the salary cap.

By doing the right thing, and in a prudent manner, the Chiefs kept their best player happy. And a happy Holmes, who had threatened to boycott this weekend's season opener if a new deal wasn't in place, is apt to be an even more motivated and productive player.

Around the league

	Law

And, yes, the Patriots did float the name of cornerback Ty Law last week to see if it would draw any interest. Nothing serious, of course, just some casual mentions that he might be available at the right price. And why is that? Because the veteran cornerback, like old running mate Milloy, has a wrong price, cap-wise, both now and for the future. Law will earn a base salary of $4.9 million this season, but his cap charge is a whopping $8.806 million, about $3 million more than Milloy's cap hit. In 2004, the base salary for Law jumps to $5.65 million, there is a $1 million reporting bonus, and his cap number is $9.457 million. Should we even mention 2005, since Law will be gone by then, or will have restructured his deal? Ah, what the heck, huh? The base salary is $8.75 million, with a $1 million reporting bonus and cap charge of $12.557 million. Suddenly those two rookie cornerbacks the Patriots staff loves so much, Eugene Wilson and Asante Samuel (the latter of whom will start on Sunday at Buffalo), are looking even better. Just a hunch: By 2004, Law will be gone, too, and Wilson and Samuel will both be starting.

	Lewis

If there was any lingering doubt about who is calling the personnel shots in Cincinnati, it should have been expunged for good last weekend, when first-year head coach Marvin Lewis demonstrated he is the new sheriff in town. Even though it has been clear to most observers that Bengals president Mike Brown handed the keys to Lewis, granting him far more power than any previous Cincinnati head coach ever enjoyed, there were skeptics who suspected management would still play a role in shaping the roster. And they were wrong. In whittling down a roster for the first time in his career, Lewis broke out the big machete, and paid no attention to draft status, salary, or past service with the franchise. He cut former third-round wide receiver Ron Dugans, who had his best season in 2002, but who doesn't play fast. He jettisoned Steve Foley, after benching him, despite the fact the veteran linebacker got a $2.1 million signing bonus just two years ago. Former first-round defensive end Reinard Wilson, who had zero sacks in '02, is gone. Not since 1989 did the Bengals have a second-round choice who didn't stick with the team through at least the opening game of his sophomore campaign. The streak ended when Lewis lopped off free safety Lamont Thompson, a second-rounder in 2002, and a guy who got a signing bonus of $1.6 million. Viewed as a disappointment in his rookie year, most teams still felt the physically imposing Thompson (6-feet-1, 220 pounds, sub-4.5 speed), who holds the Pac 10 career record for interceptions, would develop into a player. But the Lewis staff saw him as too soft and so he is gone. Reserve linebacker Armegis Spearman, to whom the Bengals paid a $500,000 signing bonus to match a restricted free agent offer sheet from Green Bay, was released. Less than a week before the opening game, unsure that Neil Rackers' balky knee would hold up, the veteran kicker was released. It should also be noted that Lewis made the call to release Akili Smith, after the team had invested more than $12 million in the former first-round quarterback, and to not match the Buffalo offer sheet to "transition" free agent linebacker Takeo Spikes, the Bengals' top defender. So no more talk, please, about how Mike Brown and his family are pulling the personnel strings behind the scenes. Lewis is clearly The Man.

	Rice

In the last eight games in which Tampa Bay defensive end Simeon Rice has faced his old high school teammate, Donovan McNabb, he has sacked the Eagles quarterback 11 times. Rice has 14½ sacks in 14 games versus the Eagles and has at least one sack in nine of those contests. The Bucs and Eagles face off Monday night, of course, in a rematch of the 2002 conference championship game.