RIVER FALLS, Wis. (AP) - With one Pro Bowl running back sitting out in a contract dispute and a former Pro Bowl running back making a surprise return, the Kansas City Chiefs yesterday opened what could be their most interesting training camp in many years.

Subplots and story lines abound. Questions about Herm Edwards’ quest to rebuild one of the league’s oldest rosters are about as thick as the piney woods that ring this picturesque college town in western Wisconsin, where the Chiefs have been coming for 17 years to escape the energy-sapping Midwestern heat.

Adding to the drama, negotiations remain stalled with Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson and first-round draft pick Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Carl Peterson said.

Johnson, who is under contract, is demanding compensation in the range of $28 million guaranteed, insisting he be paid as much as San Diego Pro Bowler LaDainian Tomlinson.

But he will be fined more than $14,000 for every day he misses, and Peterson signaled a tough stance by the Chiefs.

"We continue to talk," Peterson said. "But we are a long way apart."

The Chiefs point out that Tomlinson, unlike Johnson, is an accomplished blocker as well as a dangerous pass receiver.

Johnson’s situation could be affected by the unexpected return of three-time Pro Bowl running back Priest Holmes, who has been out of football since 2005. The Chiefs are not counting on Holmes to be the featured back - he will turn 34 early in the season - but they are hopeful he can get about 12 touches every game.

Many of the Chiefs’ marquee players of the recent past are gone, including quarterback Trent Green, guard Will Shields and return specialist Dante Hall.

Who will replace Green? Edwards insists the competition will be fair between second-year man Brodie Croyle and 34-year-old career backup Damon Huard, who played well in eight games after Green got hurt last year.

Many observers see Croyle as the quarterback of the future and believe it will be his job to lose.

There will be a new kicker - fifth-round draft choice Justin Medlock - a new long snapper and a new return man to break in, making special teams one of the biggest mysteries as camp gets under way.

The offensive line, long a strong point and a major reason the Chiefs had one of the NFL’s most powerful attacks, must be substantially rebuilt. Left guard Brian Waters and center Casey Wiegmann are the only starters left from the great lines of recent years. Moving over from tackle to take over for Shields is John Welbourn.

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