Report: New York Jets believe Santonio Holmes may be "milking" injury

Jets receiver Santonio Holmes missed the final 12 games of 2012 with a Lisfranc injury. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

New York Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes remains sidelined while recovering multiple foot surgeries to repair a severe Lisfranc injury and is expected to miss the entire preseason and possibly regular-season games.

But some within the Jets organization believe Holmes may be "milking the injury" to avoid training camp and ensure that his potential free-agent stock doesn't drop, according to ESPN New York's Rich Cimini.

Holmes is owed $7.5 million in 2013 after agreeing to a restructured contract in March, and the Jets are expected to cut him after the season to avoid paying his $10.75 cap number in 2014.

From the report:

If he re-injures his foot, he'll be damaged goods next offseason or, worse, could be forced to retire. So you can bet he'll take his sweet time, hoping to maximize his value. Some people say they wouldn't be shocked to see him in October at the earliest. The minority opinion is that he's dragging it out to avoid training camp, and that he'll crank it up in a couple of weeks to get ready for the season opener. With him, you never know.

The 29-year-old has largely underperformed since the Jets acquired him in a trade with the Steelers and signed him to a five-year, $45-million deal.

His receiving yard total has dropped from 746 in his first season (2010) to 654 in 2011 and 272 in four games in 2012, and he has caused numerous distractions, including a suspension in 2010 and a benching in 2011.

BURKE: Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith stay neck-and-neck (for better or worse) in Jets’ QB race