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As ESPNews anchor Michael Kim suggested this afternoon, perhaps Larry Johnson grew weary of watching the Chiefs training camp on HBO's "Hard Knocks" series and decided it was time to take the starting role. ... Or maybe it was just the money.

Whatever the case, Johnson ended a 25-day holdout, when he agreed to a five-year contract extension and joined the Chiefs for practice Tuesday, taking a swing pass from quarterback Brodie Croyle shortly after the session cranked up.

The NFL Network's Adam Schefter is reporting the deal is worth $43.2 million, with $19 million guaranteed. It will keep Johnson, who had one year left on his old deal, with the Chiefs through 2012.

According to ESPN.com insider John Clayton, of the guaranteed money, $12 million is the signing bonus and $7 million is guaranteed salary.

"It was a long, hard negotiation," general manager Carl Peterson told the Associated Press. "We are very happy to have all our children in camp now."

Johnson has broken the Chiefs' single-season rushing record in each of the past two seasons. He ran for 1,789 yards last year and set an NFL record with 416 carries.

While his teammates were holding two-a-days in River Falls, Wisconsin, Johnson spent training camp working out at Athletes Performance Institute in Tempe, Arizona. During his holdout, the team fined Johnson more than $19,000 per day.

As Clayton suggested, it was a tough situation for the Chiefs and Johnson. He turns 28 years old this fall.

Because of that, Johnson didn't want to play out the final year of his current deal and be in a position in which the Chiefs could make him their franchise player in 2008. Had that happened, it would have been hard for Johnson to get a big-money contract, since running backs nearing the age of 30 tend to not get big deals.

By reporting and getting his new contract, Johnson has two possible games to polish his timing for the start of the regular season. ...

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how Johnson's return affects Priest Holmes' status with the club.

In case you missed it, Holmes had hoped to be removed from the PUP list and take part in his first actual practice on Sunday. But with Peterson out of town -- apparently attending to negotiations with Johnson -- Holmes' status remained the same. "It's not a setback. We just have to wait until Carl gets back in town," said Holmes. "I'm not sure when he'll be back. ..."

Head coach Herman Edwards told reporters that afternoon the veteran was not ready to return to practice yet. "We had a long talk and the doctor said he was OK to participate," Edwards explained. "But in his mind and our mind we just felt that where he's at right now he's not up to 100 percent.

"He's been laid off for a long time."

Edwards added: "I'm not going to rush him. I said you take your time. We don't want to be put in a situation where all of a sudden we take him off PUP [physically unable to perform list] and he starts practicing and two days from now he says he's not ready yet. That's OK for you but that's not OK for the football team. ..."

Now that Peterson is back, we'll see what happens with Holmes. It should be noted that if he is activated -- or removed from the PUP -- but then cannot play, the Chiefs would either have to cut Holmes or place him on injured reserve, explaining why Peterson might need to be consulted.

Although Holmes is a Peterson favorite, I can't shake the feeling that Edwards wishes the once-great back had never shown up. That's why I believe Holmes won't be on the opening day roster -- especially now that Johnson is on board.

We shall see what develops on that front in coming days. I will point out, however, that Edwards was caught in a somewhat embarrassing situation when he said Holmes was in the stadium during last Thursday's Dolphins game only to discover later that he had flown home to San Antonio and not attended.

Stay tuned on Holmes. ... As for Johnson? If last year's heavy workload and the loss of key offensive linemen weren't enough to keep you from drafting him, don't let the holdout scare you off, either.