HOLT, PACE ON THE OUTS IN ST. LOUIS?

Though Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch isn’t reporting (yet) that receiver Torry Holt and/or left tackle Orlando Pace will soon be former members of the team, Thomas makes a compelling case for the franchise to move on. For starters, it’s the first year of a new regime. So it makes sense to sever ties with aging players who won’t be part of the future. Also, getting rid of Holt and Pace would double the team’s cap space, from $14 million to $28 million. (Though Thomas sets forth the cap savings based on cutting or trading the players before June 1, the timing doesn’t matter in 2009, because it’s the last capped year. Any cut or trade, before or after June 1, will result in the full remaining cap acceleration being taken this year. Also, Holt is in the final year of his contract -- so even if there were an extension to the CBA, his cap savings would be the same before or after June 1.) Trading the aging veterans would be challenging, absent a renegotiation of their contracts. Holt is due to earn $6.65 million in base salary this year, and Pace is due to pocket $5.975 million in 2009, $7.175 million in 2010, and $8.375 million in 2011. So if they go, they’re most likely to be cut. On the surface, it would be jarring news. But it’s a fact of life in today’s NFL -- especially for a bad team that needs to take dramatic steps in order to get better.