Santonio Holmes not planning on shaking hands with former teammates

The Monday Night Football battle between the Chicago Bears and New York Jets is one of the most interesting matchups of the week, as both teams are coming in with 1-1 records. At this point, the Bears have the most to prove, because we haven’t seen the kind of explosive passing game that we expected from Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and Alshon Jeffery. Both Marshall and Jeffery slogged through injuries in last week’s win over the San Francisco 49ers, and the Bears could have a coming-out party against the Jets secondary with those two rounding into better health. Meanwhile, the Jets nearly defeated the Bears arch rivals, but Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson led the Green Bay Packers to a comeback victory that could have easily been a big 2-0 upset for the Jets.

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One of the biggest storylines surrounding the game is the brief reunion between the Jets and former No. 1 wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who was anything but a No. 1 wideout in New York. His inconsistent, disappointing play was “supported” by nagging injuries and a mercurial attitude that was exacerbated by the press. He caught 52 and 51 passes in his first two seasons with the Jets, but those two “best” performances clearly went under expectations.

Now with the Bears as the team’s No. 3 receiver, Holmes is doing his best to push those memories behind him, and Jets head coach Rex Ryan decided to praise him earlier this week instead of trying to ignite something. It doesn’t like Holmes will be a gentleman against his former team, however, as the New York Daily News’s Manish Mehta reports that Holmes isn’t planning on shaking hands with his former teammates on Monday.

Holmes will have to back it all up by playing well on the field, because he hasn’t played as well as the praised he earned in the offseason when he first joined the Bears on a low-risk, veteran minimum contract. After a putrid Week 1, Holmes was a non-factor against the 49ers with just two receptions for 20 yards.