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We’re nearly one full week into the 2010 version of NFL Free Agency and future Hall of Fame wide receiver Torry Holt is still without a job. Released by the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this off-season, the 33-year old has yet to get an offer from an NFL team. Rumors have been floating out there that Holt might be reunited with Mike Martz in Chicago. Martz of course was the architect of the Greatest Show on Turf in St. Louis when Holt was in his prime, and he’s the new offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears – a team that might benefit from having an experienced veteran wide receiver. We’ll see. It’s hard to fathom the possibility of Holt being forced into retirement this year. Soon, but I don’t think it’ll be this year. Holt joined Michael Thompson & Andrew Siciliano on ESPN Radio in Los Angeles to talk about the media work he’s been doing this off-season, how long he plans to wait and prepare as if he’ll be playing in 2010, how it would be a natural fit to play in Martz’s offense in Chicago, and what the difference is between his game and preparation at 33 years of age compared to when he was in his early and mid 20s.
On the T.V. and radio work he’s been doing this off-season and on how long he’s willing to keep looking for a job on some team in 2010:
“It’s funny you ask, it’s funny you ask, because I was just contemplating that now trying to figure out what time-line I’m going to put on this thing. But I know it’s still fairly early and teams are still right now doing their player evaluations for free agency, and they’re also doing their player evaluations for the Draft. And they’re going out and visiting these guys at their personal workouts, so this is a pretty long process, but at the same time kind of short because things go fairly quickly. But I would like to have something wrapped up fairly quickly. I don’t want to wait until June and July – I would like to not wait ’till that point to get on, because then you got to go and learn a system quickly, learn the guys, and try to get a position. So I’d like to get on pretty soon, but it’s a process. I’m just taking my time with it, but in the meantime I’m just dibbling and dabbling in a little bit of T.V., a little bit of radio. It’s something I’ve been doing since I came out of N.C. State, so I’m just continuing to keep my feet wet so once my playing days are finally over, I can hopefully transition right over into something I also like to do as well.”
On the possibility of reuniting with Mike Martz, who was recently named the new offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears:
“Well it’s obvious…it sounds like that would be the obvious choice and that would be a quick pick-up. But again, they have to do their evaluations, they’ve got to see if I can even fit with what they’re trying to do. They got a lot of young receivers there; they’re trying to groom those young receivers and trying to get those young receivers an opportunity to play. If I come in as a vet, I’m going to challenge those guys for a starting spot, and probably more than likely, beat quite a few of them out for a position to play on that football team. So I guess that’s something that they would have to evaluate. But if you think of it, it would be a natural fit with Coach Martz being there. I know the system, I was in the system for many years and had a lot of success within that system. So, it sounds quite natural, but Coach Martz doesn’t make the final decision. Some of the other people in the organization are going to make the final decision. It’s going to have to come from the head coach and Angelo and that staff on pulling the trigger to bring me in. So I’m just kind of waiting to see, but I did express to them early on – the week that I got released from Jacksonville – that I do have some interest in playing there in Chicago. I feel I could go there and help and contribute to that football team to trying to get things turned around and be a playoff contender. So we’ll see how it goes.”
On the difference between playing receiver at 33 years of age compared to ten years ago when he was 23 and terrorizing opposing secondaries:
“Well at 23 years old, I was a big eyed guy just running and having fun, and letting a lot of my athleticism and youth kind of take over and allow me to play and play at a high level. As I got older, you get a little bit craftier, that’s when film study really starts to take its toll in terms of preparing you and giving you an edge to continue to go out there on Sundays and perform, and perform at a high level. And it’s no different at 33 – I train really hard, trying to make sure I’m eating properly, doing things right in terms of nutrition, then just watching a lot of tape. Just really getting a feel for my opponent throughout the course of the week so I can give myself that much more of an advantage when I go out on Sunday to get open and catch the football. But I just became more crafty as the years went along.”
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