Free agent Holt visits with rival Jags, but Titans remain interested

Tennessee Titans fans awoke Thursday morning to find out that a chief division rival, the Jacksonville Jaguars, were the first potential suitor for free agent wide receiver Torry Holt.

That’s not all that surprising, considering the Jaguars, after having released troubled wideout Matt Jones after an off-field incident, would be interested in seeing what the veteran Holt has left in the tank. A quick scan of the Jacksonville roster suggests that if Holt has anything left, he could certainly help the Jaguars, whose need at the position rivals and perhaps surpasses the Titans’ needs there.

But from the sound of what Holt’s agent is saying, the stopover in Jacksonville is just the first visit for Holt, barring the Jaguars overwhelming him in the interim, although the receiver was still in Jacksonville as of Thursday evening.

“Torry is in contact with all the teams that have interest,” agent Kennard McGuire told The City Paper via text. “He is taking one visit at a time.”

The Titans are a bit late to the Holt party for a couple of reasons. First, Holt was on vacation last week and unavailable to anyone, and both Coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Mike Reinfeldt spent the early part of this week at the NFL owners meetings in Dana Point, Calif.

The Titans still should have Holt on their radar, even if no visit has yet been scheduled for them. What remains to be seen is how much competition they will have for Holt and what his asking price will be. Chances are, the former will determine the latter.

A couple of supposed aces in the hole that might work in the Titans favor is that they have some veterans, who supposedly know Holt pretty well with their state of North Carolina connections. Apparently, both David Thornton and Alge Crumpler, who played at North Carolina, know Holt, who played at N.C. State. All three from the state.

Remember last year, it was Thornton who helped sell Crumpler on the benefits of coming to the Titans and playing for Fisher and with a team that was on the ascent.

Might the same selling point work on Holt? Only time will tell. First, the Titans have to schedule a visit. Then, after sizing up their interest in him, see if the interest is mutual on Holt’s part.