It has been widely speculated for a while now that the St. Louis Rams will probably release veteran wide receiver (and in all likelihood future hall of famer) Torry Holt, before he’s due a $1.25 million roster bonus next Tuesday. Former first overall pick Orlando Pace was released today, to nobody’s great surprise, and the question is whether or not the aforementioned Holt is next. While it’s all but certain Holt won’t be a Ram next year, St. Louis might hold out to the very end to see what, if any, value they could get in return in a trade.
There seems to be a whole lot of interest in Holt around the league, and if the same were the case with Pace, he’d probably still technically be a Ram. ESPN.com has (in their “insider” section) reported no less than ten possible suitors for Holt, 70% of them being teams with winning records last year. In that same report, John Clayton states that the Titans and the New York Jets are the favorites to land Holt.
If you’d like to see Torry Holt in a Titans uniform, and think that’s pretty good news, this might be even better…
According to the New York Daily News, the Jets have absolutely no interest in Holt at all. While that information might make Tennessee look like the front runner for Holt, at least for the time being, Tennessee might not leave it at that.
As Terry McCormick reported in the City Paper yesterday, it’s not out of the question that the Titans offer up a late round pick for Holt, even if they’re considered the favorite to land him. This would eliminate the possibility of a number of teams, potentially attractive to Holt, coming in and swooping up the receiver.
I think it makes sense.
The Tennessee Titans, for a number of reasons, showed no interest in Terrell Owens during his brief stint as a free agent. Even though it’s widely assumed (and probably accurate) that Owens has the ability to make a bigger impact than Holt at this point (even though Holt is noticeably younger), Holt comes with a whole lot less of the ego and entitlement. There’s not a receiver with more yards this millennium than Holt’s 11,872 (1319 per season). Marvin Harrison has also been mentioned as an option for the Titans, but I’d have to think that between the two, Holt would have much more upside at this point in their respective careers.
The Titans very rarely take too many risks, and giving up a draft pick for a player they might be able to get for nothing, does seem a little bit out of character. That doesn’t mean that it’s not a good idea, though. Holt is only a year older than this offseason’s prized free agent wideout, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and is much more accomplished. If he becomes a Titan, we shouldn’t expect 1200 yards receiving from Holt, but a combination of Holt and Nate Washington would be a huge upgrade over what we’ve had for the last few years.
It’s a little early to speculate too much, but the combo of Holt and Washington could team up very nicely with Chris Johnson and LenDale White to make a far more balanced offense than we’ve seen in Tennessee for quite some time. Assuming that Kerry Collins plays close to the level he did last year, you’d be hard pressed to find a weakness at any position on offense. Add that to a defense that should still be strong despite the loss of Albert Haynesworth, and the Titans will have had themselves a very strong start to the offseason with plenty of time and cap space to make even more happen in the next few months.