WRONG TONE? Santonio Holmes, who suffered a Lisfranc injury in his left foot in Week 4 last year, is unsure he will be able to play for the Jets this season. (AP; Getty Images)
CORTLAND — Tone Time might be delayed longer than everyone thought.
Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who remains sidelined after two foot surgeries in the last nine months, said he is not sure if he will play this season. The Jets were hoping Holmes could return at the beginning of the regular season, but Holmes did not sound optimistic yesterday.
When asked, “Are you sure you’ll play this season?” Holmes responded, “I can’t answer that question.”
Holmes, who is on the physically unable to perform list, rode the stationary bike during the Jets’ first practice of training camp and worked with the trainers.
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.”
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The one-time Super Bowl MVP took a pay cut in the offseason at the Jets’ request. He is scheduled to make $7.5 million in base salary this year. This is likely Holmes’ final season with the Jets. He has a $10.75 million salary cap figure in 2014, so he is a prime candidate to be a cap casualty. That could play a factor in Holmes’ mind when it comes to rushing back.
For now, Holmes said he’s not worried about anything other than his daily rehab.
“I’m worried about one day at a time,” he said. “I’m being honest. I don’t know. I’ve never suffered an injury before. This is the first time I’ve been injured. I have to deal with it the best way that I can, which is one day at a time.’’
Jets coach Rex Ryan praised Holmes’ work during his rehab and said he is not worried Holmes could miss the entire season.
“I feel confident that we will have him,” Ryan said. “When that is? I’m not sure, but I feel confident that he’ll be out there.”
Holmes, 29, suffered a Lisfranc injury in his left foot of Week 4 last season. He had surgery on the foot in October and again in February. Ryan said Holmes looks like he is in good condition for when he is eventually cleared.
“He looks great,” Ryan said. “He’s doing a lot of conditioning and things like that. His body, that won’t be the issue. … He’s in great shape, conditioning, probably dropped seven or eight pounds. He’s really been working.”
The Jets are extremely thin at wide receiver with a healthy Holmes, never mind 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 because his car broke down on the way.
“It was a three-hour drive that didn’t go so well for me,” he said.
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.”