While he's apparently out of his walking boot, Lamar Holmes will not be lumbering through that door for a little while.

It appears Holmes will be out until training camp in July, giving the hulking rookie tackle a compressed timeframe in which to make his case for a job. The team apparently didn't know about the foot injury when they drafted him, something that can't have made anybody happy.

Still, it's early yet. Holmes has all the physical potential in the world, and the fact that he'll be back for training camp is good enough news for this blogger. I just want a healthy football team going into the season, to be frank.

And yes, this effectively destroys his (admittedly slim) chances of competing for a starting job this off-season, since other players will have more than a month's head-start on him and have already gotten NFL game action. It does not, however, kill his chances of making the roster. With Sam Baker saying he's healthier and Will Svitek a perfectly legitimate starting option, Holmes is facing an impossibly uphill battle.

The Falcons didn't invest a much-maligned third-round pick in Holmes so they could cut bait a few months in, so look for him to hold on as the third option at both tackle spots.

Your thoughts on Holmes and his injury?