Had wide receiver Victor Cruz not signed his one-year, $2.879 million restricted free agent (RFA) tender, today would have been the day the New York Giants had the option of reducing his tender amount. And although many experts and pundits didn't anticipate Big Blue doing so, it turns out the team had every intention of exercising the option to slash his tender amount to $630,000.
That decision is something Cruz and his agent, CAA's Tom Condon, were undoubtedly aware of and something they acted on accordingly. If they hadn't, the already negative negotiations could have turned into something much, much worse.
Still, despite the tender, Cruz and the Giants remain roughly $1 million apart on a long-term deal and a training camp holdout appears to be a somewhat realistic option. And should a holdout occur, Cruz is now eligible to be fined $30,000 for each day of training camp missed.
However, there is a catch to any potential holdout. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk recently pointed out, Cruz cannot extend any holdout beyond the date of August 6th. If he does, he loses an accrued year of free agent eligibility and would become a restricted free agent again in March of 2014.
Cruz had been seeking a long-term deal with the team that helped him in his rise to stardom, but the Giants never budged, leaving the 26-year-old wide receiver out of any offseason activities with the team. Now that Cruz is back with Big Blue, Eli Manning and the Giants can relax knowing that one of the most dynamic slot receivers in the league will be on the field for the 2013 season
Cruz is coming off of back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, with 2011 being the breakout year. Cruz caught 82 passes for a total of 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns, as the salsa-dancing receiver and H akeem Nicks established themselves as one of the top receiving tandems in the NFL.
Looking back on the situation, it's easy to make an argument for both sides. Cruz's play the past two seasons--one Super Bowl campaign and one Pro Bowl appearance--definitely warrant a contract extension. On the other hand, Giants made Cruz an offer that would make him a "rich man," but that offer wasn't accepted.
That offer from the Giants was reportedly in the ballpark of $8 million per year, but Cruz and his agent declined the offer.
Cruz switched agents this summer in hopes of signing a big deal, hiring Tom Condon, who also represents teammates Eli Manning, Mark Herzlich and Mathias Kiwanuka. Cruz certainly made the right move by bringing an agent aboard who already has a relationship with the franchise, but it sounds like he's asking for too much money for a player who's only been in the league for two seasons.
If Cruz can keep the contract talks off his mind and play football the way we've seen the past two seasons, the Giants should be bound for a return to the playoffs. Nicks appears to be healthy and the G-Men have two dynamic running backs in David Wilson and Andre Brown, who look to be key contributors to the offense.
In the event that Cruz did hold out and Nicks' knee wasn't healthy enough to play, New York signed ex-Oakland Raiders wideout Louis Murphy and brought back Ramses Barden to provide depth at the WR spot. Now that Cruz and Nicks are on board, the Giants have a ton of depth at wide receiver should the injury bug bite, as it usually does in the NFL.
It should be noted that the Giants have the right to fine Cruz $30,000 per every training camp day he misses in the event that Cruz decides to hold out of camp in hopes of signing a fruitful deal, but unless he's trying to drive a wedge further between him and the team, it doesn't look like that'll be the case.
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