As the Tennessee Titans gear up for the season, they are looking fairly strong, and have many fans excited about the coming year, but that does not mean there are no holes to fill.
They recently finished up several months of various offseason sessions under new coach Ken Whisenhunt, finishing up in late June with a mandatory three-day minicamp. The Titans will not officially reconvene until July 25 when training camp begins.
According to Jim Wyatt of the Nashville Tennessean, the team may want to add another wide receiver before that time begins. He notes that there are likely only three roster locks at wide receiver: Justin Hunter, Nate Washington and Kendall Wright. According to Wyatt, WR Derek Hagan could fill one of the spots behind the top three, despite not playing last season. Most teams carry five or six receivers on the 53-man roster during the season, with the position being one of the more injury prone. Tennessee has few experienced options for the back-end of their receiver corps, and although they have three talented starters, they may need more option once the real battle begins.
If the team has interest in adding another potential contributor before the season begins, Santonio Holmes is one of the lone options remaining in a bleak group of available free agent wide receivers.
Holmes is 30 now, and somewhat hobbled by injuries, but he still has serious wheels and after-the-catch ability. He is still a reliable pass catcher, and while he only caught 23 passes in 2013, way down from his hay day in 2009 with the Steelers, he did manage to post a career high in yards per reception at 19.8.
When healthy, Holmes still poses a threat to defenses as a playmaker after the catch, and with little interest from teams this offseason, Holmes wouldn't likely come at a high cost, either.
It's probable that the Titans will use newly-acquired Dexter McCluster out of the backfield as a receiving threat, but if they want to give the team the best chance for success they need to pick up another receiver before training camp, too. If the Titans don't grab him, someone else will and they will have blown an opportunity.
