Andre Holmes (born June 16, 1988) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver. Originally signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2011, Holmes also played for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. Holmes played college football at

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists. Its missio ...

. He played for Hillsdale from 2007 to 2010 and holds the school's all-time record for receiving yardage. During his junior and senior seasons, he also set multiple Hillsdale records with 181 catches, 2,444 yards and 17 touchdowns. After completing his collegiate career, he was invited to play in the Texas vs. The Nation college football all-star game.

Early years

Holmes attended James B. Conant High School where he started at wide receiver for only one season. His football coaches were Dave Pendergast and Bill Modelski. He also participated in basketball where he was coached by Tom McCormack and Jeff Stewart. In

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, he set PR of 6.85 meters in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and 14.06 meters in

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

. In addition, he was also a member of the 4 × 200m relay (1:29.66).

College career

Holmes accepted a football scholarship from

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

, where he was coached by Keith Otterbein. As a sophomore, he became a starter at wide receiver. As a junior, he started all 12 games, posting 77 receptions for 1,076 yards. As a senior, he set single-season school records with 104 receptions and over 1,300 receiving yards. He also had 11 touchdowns. He set a single-game school record in the team's first-round playoff game against

St. Cloud State University St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. Its enrollment in 2020 was approximately ...

with 16 receptions, while tallying 208 yards and 2 touchdowns. Holmes finished his college career as the school's All-time receiver with 219 receptions for 3,092 yards. He was twice named ALL-GLIAC and a Division II All-American honorable-mention. He was also a member of the

team, winning the

GLIAC The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Its ele ...

title in the outdoor

at the conference championships in 2006.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Holmes was signed as an

by the

after the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

on July 27, due to his small school background. He was waived on August 29.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 5, 2011, the

signed him to their

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. He was promoted him to the active roster on December 9. He suffered a hamstring injury and did not play in the last 4 games of the season. Holmes was waived by the Cowboys on November 24, 2012. On November 27, the Cowboys signed Holmes to their practice squad, as a replacement to

Danny Coale Daniel Kinsman Coale (June 27, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts. He played college football at Virginia Tech. Early years Coale was a versatile playe ...

, but he wasn't re-signed at the end of the season.

New England Patriots

Holmes was signed by

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

on January 8, 2013, to the practice squad. He was waived on May 10.

Oakland Raiders

Holmes was claimed off waivers by the

on May 13, 2013. On July 27, 2013, he was suspended for the first 4 games of the 2013 season due to violating the league's performance-enhancing drugs policy. After serving his suspension and being reinstated by the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

the Raiders activated him to their roster on October 7, 2013, filling the open roster spot after the release of quarterback

Matt Flynn Matthew Clayton Flynn (born June 20, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He was a member of the Packers when they won Super Bowl XLV over the Pitts ...

. On January 7, 2017, Holmes caught his first career postseason touchdown from quarterback Connor Cook in the Raiders' 14–27 wildcard round loss to the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Buffalo Bills

On March 18, 2017, Holmes signed a three-year, $6.5 million contract with the

. On September 10, in the season-opening 21–12 victory over the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, he recorded his first touchdown as a Bill, a one-yard pass from quarterback

Tyrod Taylor Tyrod Diallo Taylor (born August 3, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Virginia Tech, leading the Hokies to the 2009 Orange Bowl as a Sophomore ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on December 26, 2017 with a neck injury. During the 2018 season, Holmes played in over 70% of special team snaps for the Bills. On December 4, 2018, the Bills released Holmes.

Denver Broncos

On December 5, 2018, Holmes was claimed off waivers by the

. On December 28, 2018, Holmes was placed on injured reserve. He was released on January 23, 2019.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

Holmes' father, Kevin Holmes, played college basketball for DePaul in the 1980s. His younger brother Jason, a former college basketball player at

Mississippi Valley State Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississippi.Morehead State Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-year residential ea ...

, played

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

professionally with St Kilda in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

References

External links

Dallas Cowboys bioHillsdale Chargers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Andre 1988 births Living people American football wide receivers Buffalo Bills players Denver Broncos players Dallas Cowboys players Hillsdale Chargers football players Hillsdale Chargers men's track and field athletes James B. Conant High School alumni Minnesota Vikings players New England Patriots players Oakland Raiders players People from Hoffman Estates, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Sportspeople from Kane County, Illinois