Giants receiver Victor Cruz wants a new contract to get done this season, but he says there’s no chance he’ll walk out on the team if that doesn’t happen.
Asked about Ross Tucker’s suggestion that Cruz should consider sitting out until he gets a new deal to avoid getting hurt before he can cash in, Cruz says there’s no chance he would consider that.
“I should hold out, right? [It will] never happen,” Cruz said, via the Star-Ledger. “Because if I’m going to do that I might as well do it in the beginning of the season, and not wait when I’m doing so well, and just hold out. I want to continue to help my team win. The team’s going to panic if I hold out. That’s not me. I just want to go out and play football and continue to be myself.”
Cruz certainly deserves to make more than his $540,000 salary, which is the league minimum for third-year players. But he says he couldn’t disrupt the locker room by leaving now.
“The team’s going to panic if I hold out. That’s not me. I just want to go out and play football and continue to be myself,” Cruz said.
If the Giants and Cruz don’t get a deal done this year, a contract dispute may arise in the offseason, when he’ll be a restricted free agent. But that’s a future concern. This year, Cruz is committed to the Giants.