Santonio Holmes to return kickoffs in preseason finale with Chicago Bears?
By Cory Buck
Santonio Holmes is still trying to catch up with the Chicago Bears offense after having signed with the team in the middle of the preseason. He played sparingly in the team’s third preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks and he acknowledged he’ll need to play even more in the team’s final exhibition against the Cleveland Browns to fortify his chances of making the team. Beyond just work on the offense though — which isn’t a given at this time — we may see Holmes returning kicks in order to further prove his value to the team.
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“This is an opportunity to get some good work in and get a good feel for how the game’s going to go and what the speed’s going to be like next week,” Holmes said per the Chicago Sun-Times.
The article continues, “Though coach Marc Trestman hinted that Holmes, 30, might get an opportunity to return kickoffs in the exhibition finale against the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium, the Bears aren’t saying if Holmes will play on offense.”
If Holmes doesn’t play on offense, that would be a disastrous sign for his chances to make the team. At least in potentially assigning him kickoff returns, Trestman is giving Holmes more chances to make the final cut.