Rams Release Torry Holt
March 13, 2009 by David Kindervater
Filed under St. Louis Rams
National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
To create nearly $8 million in salary cap space, the St. Louis Rams released seven-time Pro Bowl receiver Torry Holt today. Torry was one of the few remaining players from the Rams’ glory days — aka “The Greatest Show on Turf.” Ironically, one of the other remaining players, tackle Orlando Pace, was also released this week. That leaves only defensive end Leonard Little and quarterback Marc Bulger from the team that lost Super Bowl XXXVI to the Patriots. Owner Chip Rosenbloom said the decision wasn’t an easy one:
“The Rams will forever be grateful for the way Torry Holt represented the Rams on the field and in the community. Over the past 10 seasons Torry has proven himself to be one of the finest wide receivers in league history. This is a difficult decision because Torry has meant so much to the organization.”
Torry was one of the first players I interviewed when I began my NFL writing career back in 1999. He was the 6th overall pick in the NFL Draft that year. And he’s played in all but two games for the Rams since then. I think you find a way to keep this guy on your team. No matter what kind of rebuilding excuse you have, it makes no sense to get rid of your best offensive weapon. Torry led the Rams in receptions (64) in what was a miserable 2008 season. Of course, he’s spent most of his career leading the Rams in receptions. And Torry ranks 11th in NFL history with 869 receptions and he’s 14th overall with 12,660 receiving yards. To top it off, his 80.1 yards-per-game career receiving average is the best in NFL history. So, its the Rams loss. And forget T.J. Houshmandzadeh (who signed with the Seattle Seahawks a couple weeks ago). Torry Holt has suddenly becoming the most sought after free agent receiver this offseason (if you were compiling the entire list of free agents this offseason). I believe this is a guy who has five more years of great production and any receiver-needy team should be knocking down his door.
Source: StLouisRams.com, Photo: Newscom
