ST. LOUIS (AP) - Wide receiver Torry Holt signed a one-day contract so he could retire with the St. Louis Rams, where he was a key part of a Super Bowl champion and the Greatest Show on Turf.
He'd like to be remembered as a player who gave it his all and had fun doing it.
"I want my legacy to be a guy that respected the game of football, a guy that respected his teammates, his coaches, challenged guys on a day-to-day basis, whether I said something or didn't say anything, and just loved playing," Holt said Wednesday. "This being a childhood dream of mine, how many of us can say that we're doing what we dreamed of doing?"
Despite his statistics, Holt doesn't expect he'll land in the Hall of Fame anytime soon with several other wide receivers ahead of him. He said Wednesday that a farewell news conference was enough validation.
Holt was a seven-time Pro Bowler with St. Louis from 1999-2008 and was selected to the NFL's All-Decade team for the 2000s, setting a league record with six consecutive seasons of at least 1,300 yards receiving.
The Rams scored 500 or more points three consecutive seasons from 1999-2001 with an offense that featured quarterback Kurt Warner and running back Marshall Faulk, along with wide receivers Issac Bruce and Holt.
"The practices we had were incredible," Holt said. "The way that we went at it every day was awesome. So by the time we got to the field on Sunday it was more like, `catch us if you can."'
"We had a lot of good things going on with that group and it was fortunate enough that we were able to set aside the nonsense and focus on what was important."
Holt caught 869 passes for 12,594 yards and 74 touchdowns with St. Louis, all three of those totals ranking second in franchise history behind Bruce. He finished his career in 2009 with the Jaguars and is 10th in the NFL with 13,382 yards receiving and 13th with 920 receptions.
"It was challenging for me to keep up with Isaac on a day-to-day basis," Holt said. "I owe a lot to Isaac for my career and I hope the same way he challenged me, I hope I was able to challenge him."
Holt said Cris Carter, Andre Reed and Tim Brown will make it to the Hall of Fame "before we even start mentioning anything about Torry Holt being in the Hall," Holt said. "If it happens, it'll be great, but this is great validation for me."
