Kansas City, MO -- (Sports Network) - Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes informed the team on Wednesday that he intends to report to the start of the team's training camp on Saturday.

Holmes called Chiefs president Carl Peterson, declaring his intent to play for the team in 2007. Kansas City then set up visits with the team's orthopedic physicians and specialists in Miami, with all parties involved agreeing that Holmes could play football this coming season.

Holmes missed the end of the 2005 campaign and all of 2006 with a hip injury that required surgery. He is under contract with Kansas City through the 2009 season.

"In my conversation with Priest, he was excited about playing," said Peterson. "Later, (Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards) and I sat down with Priest here in Kansas City and discussed his decision and our thoughts on his return. We may put him on active PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) initially to gauge his football conditioning and to see how he feels after non-contact drills. But he indicated very strongly to me that he wanted to play and his motivation was to help the Kansas City Chiefs win a championship."

Holmes had been a stalwart in Kansas City's backfield since joining the club as an unrestricted free agent from Baltimore in 2001. He has run for a club- record 5,933 yards with 76 touchdowns, while catching 246 passes for 2,360 yards and seven scores.

Overall, Holmes has played in 109 career games, 80 starts, with 8,035 rushing yards and 86 touchdowns, while catching 334 passes for 2,945 yards and eight scores.

"For myself, I think without question by what Priest Holmes has contributed to this franchise, he deserves the right and opportunity to play again for the Chiefs," Peterson added. "He wants to do that and we're going to afford him that opportunity. From a personal standpoint, certainly I have said many times that I would never count this player out like so many did after his hip surgery. He's a very unique human being, a very unique talent and I think he will prove some people wrong again. We are going to take it slow to gauge and monitor where he is every day, but there's no question that if Priest Holmes is close to what he was before his injury, he'll make a significant impact on the offensive side of the football."

Larry Johnson took over for Holmes in 2005 and emerged as a star after running for 1,750 yards and 20 touchdowns in 16 games, but only nine starts. In 2006, the Penn State product carried the ball 416 times for 1,789 yards and 17 touchdowns.

"Obviously Priest Holmes has been a tremendous contributor to the Kansas City Chiefs," said Edwards. "The combination of Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes has previously proved very difficult to stop in the past. At this point, we will need to proceed slowly to determine where he is from a health and conditioning standpoint. Hopefully, he's able to come back and continue his career with the Chiefs. I believe Priest Holmes is a team guy and has indicated to me his desire to help this team. If he's able to come back, he understands and accepts the fact that he would have a different role than when he was the starter. I look forward to monitoring his progress throughout training camp."

Johnson, who was named to the Pro Bowl the last two seasons, has threatened to hold out and not report to training camp.