Bob Papa on Cruz

Steve Smith should give Cruz a call.

Have fun playing on your 2 million dollar tender.

3 years?

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so I'm guessing its 21 million guaranteed over 5 years.

21 million guaranteed. He didn't mention total amount or yrs. said he was told how much guaranteed money Cruz turned down

(as great as he has been for 2 years) thisclose to being cut as he had been with the Jets..

Papa: "with the injuries in the NFL, you offer me guaranteed money like that, sign me up."

21 million is a nice chunk of money to be guaranteed for a WR.

If I was him, I'd let it play out and see if I could get more. The only downside is that I have to deal with it as a news item every day until a decision is made.

nothing but rumors to go on but that coupled with the 7 mil a year would be enough for me to sign if I were in his shoes. Easy for me to say..

And mike Wallace screwed this up.

he is very popular in New York/New Jersey but NY fans are very savvy and if they think he is demanding too much...being greedy...and he remains unsigned, they will turn on him very quickly.

Not sure Victor is getting great advice right now...$21M guaranteed with the chance he has for endorsements etc. He's starting to sound greedy.

Until that tender deadline.

My money is on a deal being agreed upon around that date

Not Steve Smith and not what Cruz should be greatful for given his beginings.

The Jets?

That's a fair and reasonable amount of guaranteed money for a slot receiver, NYG probably wont guaranty much more than that.

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for him to sign anything before April 16th. Now if he drags this out beyond that date, then Im going to start having some issues with this.

last year that he would take less money to stay in NY, and that he wouldn't be greedy about what his demands were?

you had not heard that Victor Cruz was on the Jets P.S?

EVERYBODY knows that, just ask Dan Dierdorf...

Mike Wallace got $27M guaranteed and as an unrestricted FA he had a lot more leverage than Cruz.

Now we don't know how the contract was structured, but it's hard to see Cruz getting significantly more guaranteed money than that, even if he were an UFA.

an extension somewhere around midseason.

Cruz plays for the tender in 2013.

is no reason for him to sign anything for 2 weeks. He is trying to get the most money he can after getting paid relatively pennies for his performance the last 2 years. Everybody just needs to stay patient. He will sign and if he does not sign that, he will have to play for the tender.

got $27 million guaranteed which also takes into account

A. He was grossly overpaid
B. He was a free agent

For Cruz to be offered $21 million with the Giants holding all leverage here, I hope he doesn't overplay his hand and become super greedy.

This looks like a very fair deal compared to more reasonable contracts on the market.

Jennings: $18 million guaranteed
Harvin $25.5 million guaranteed
Bowe: $26 million guaranteed
Amendola: $10 million guaranteed
Welker $ 10 million guaranteed

If that is really what the Giants are offering, and I doubt that, this is his last year with the Giants if he doesn't get signed away this year. I think at least 9 mil per with 20/25 guaranteed is the number he can demand.

Quote:

20/25 guaranteed

Again, that is the only # that matters. The Giants, according to this, are offering 21 guaranteed, which is what you're saying he can ask for. So why would that not get it done?

The money per means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in the NFL.

I think Tom Condon will advise against that ... strongly.

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at the tender this year. This risk is all on his side. He won't get 9 or 10 million. Read the papers. The market is 5-7 million.

There's two weeks and change left to his RFA offer sheet window, we've been and will continue to hear leaks like this until the end.

Then, it's up to VC to sign the extension or play under the tender and up the ante.

"with the injuries in the NFL, you offer me guaranteed money like that, sign me up."

Quote:

I'm predicting.... BillKo : 9:41 am an extension somewhere around midseason. Cruz plays for the tender in 2013.

If he plays for the tender, the Giants are pulling that offer off the table, and rightfully so.

If he's in a position to negotiate mid-season, that likely means he's healthy and having another Cruz like season. At that point, how much cheaper are they going to get him than if he hits FA? Plus, we have the franchise tag in our back pocket for 2014 after 2013 is over.

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I've actually nailed this one wrt the guaranteed portion of the deal.

Cruz would be CRAZY not to take that deal if he doesn't get an offer sheet. Crazy.

he's one car accident, random medical diagnosis, or slip in the shower away, from having $0 guaranteed

It still doesn't matter until the 19th. Nothing, including an unexpected offer from another team, is going to happen before the final hours.

You're wrong about that for a player Cruz's age. He will play out a 5 year contract as he is 27. The per year is a factor as well. It's not like he'29 with only 3 years of quality play left.

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That someone who comes off as being so humble off the field would be so greedy. Is it Cruz who wants more money or is it his agent trying to milk out as much as possible? It kind of makes me wonder who's calling the shots here.

being offered a fair contract. As JonC alludes to, although he is not completely a product of the system, the system and the QB have helped him. He may not be the same player in a different offense.

If he doesn't want what the Giants are offering him, use him for one more season and then say good-bye.

was made before or after the agent change.

Mike Wallace money.

This is why I strongly expect him to sign the tender in late April, play out the year (talking some bullshit about not negotiating during the season because he wants to be focused on football) and test the market again next year.

Then expect him to play "careful" all year.

This greed is all Cruz.

anything that happens between now and when he signs can affect his potential earnings

Chad Jones career, for one, ended pretty abruptly due to an off the field injury

it's not a particularly good sign. Because that's certainly a fair offer.

Don't see how 7mil per is fair given what top WRs are getting.

Because I'm sure many of you don't do everything you can to maximize your earnings.

Cruz playing "careful" all year.

I agree but the Giants still need to be nearer market price than 7 per. Would you leave 10/15mil on the table if you we're Cruz?

see: Umenyiora, Osi.

$21 million is more than I had thought we were offering, so that's encouraging. Cruz has more leverage than people want to believe (impending UFA of him + Nicks with one franchise tag (an $11 million cap hit) to go around reduces the team's bargaining strength).

I blame the Seattle Seahawks for all this, imo.

Cruz is a very good player, but is he a game-changer? I'm not convinced of that.

He would do very well in certain schemes but he may not put up the same numbers in a different scheme.

Would the Giants be hurt if they lost him? You bet. But they have have 52 other players to pay.