As long suspected, Victor Cruz is not going anywhere for the upcoming season. He’s staying with the Giants to continue to haul in passes from Eli Manning and break into his salsa celebration touchdown dance.
In what Giants fans must view not as a best-case scenario but the next-best thing, Cruz yesterday finally relented, appeared at the team facility and signed his one-year tender, assuring him of $2.879 million to play the 2013 season and all-but completely eliminating any possibility he will be a training camp holdout.
The tender offer has been on the table for months, and this does not preclude the Giants and Cruz from continuing to work on a long-term deal. In fact, the two sides will strive for that in the coming weeks leading up to the July 26 reporting day for training camp.
On Monday, the Giants were allowed to drop the Cruz tender offer to $630,000. Cruz did not wish to tempt fate and keep that as an option for the Giants. Cruz blinked first, because the Giants have maintained throughout the offseason they strongly want their popular starting receiver back, but only at the right price.
Cruz, according to ESPN, intends to “continue talks for a long-term deal before camp starts.’’ The Paterson, N.J., native in just two years has emerged as a fan favorite, as well as a highly-productive, big-play receiver for Manning, and there is desire on both sides to get something significant done to keep Cruz playing for his hometown team.
Signing the tender could be seen as a curious decision by Cruz, because he gives up virtually all of his leverage. Playing out this season for $2.879 million would be a huge gamble, because Cruz would assume all of the risk of injury without any real payoff and no job security. That is why agreeing to the tender appears to be the first step in Cruz giving in to his financial demands and taking what he can get.
Based on his two-year production — 168 catches for 2,628 yards and 19 touchdowns — Cruz was vastly underpaid, because his salary the past two seasons was $450,000 and $540,000.
As a result, Cruz came into the negotiations looking for a deal that averaged $10 million per year, but he received no offers as a restricted free agent — in large part because any team signing Cruz would have to forfeit a first-round draft pick to the Giants as compensation. The Giants made what co-owner John Mara said was an offer that would make Cruz “a very wealthy young man,’’ a deal averaging more than $7 million, with $12-15 million in guaranteed money. The two sides haven’t made significant inroads on a new deal but the talks have not been acrimonious, mainly because Cruz hasn’t said much of anything about his contract situation.
Cruz, with no contract, did not attend the nine organized team activity practices, which were voluntary, and also did not attend the three-day mandatory minicamp.
Cruz, unsigned, could not be fined for missing the camp. By signing his tender, Cruz will make it to training camp, and he could be fined $30,000 per day for failing to show up now that his tender is signed. If he wants to make a stand it cannot be a long one, because if he does not show up at training camp by Aug. 6 he would lose a year of credit toward free agency, something he will not do.
If Cruz plays out the season on the one-year tender, he and Hakeem Nicks will become unrestricted free agents at the same time, unquestionably forcing the Giants to choose one of the two to keep. The Giants would like to sign both, hoping to get Cruz secured this year and Nicks next year. Depending on the health and production of the two receivers in 2013, the Giants at the moment view Nicks as the more viable franchise receiver in terms of investing for the future.