FANTASY FOOTBALL NFL PLAYERS

Posted: 5/19/2013 4:28pm et

The New York Giants are making slow progress in contract talks with restricted free-agent WR Victor Cruz on a long-term contract. The two sides are expected to resume negotiations this week.

Huddle Up: Slowly but surely the talks seem to be picking up steam as the Giants look to extend the deal of a highly productive wideout who ranks ninth in receptions (168), fifth in receiving yards (2,628) and eighth in TD grabs (19) in the league over the past 2 seasons.

Posted: 5/15/2013 9:51am et

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz has lowered his demands to closer to what the team is offering. The team is believed to be offering nearly $8 million a year. There is optimism a deal will get done, but nothing is imminent.

Huddle Up: Everyone still expects something to get done between Cruz and the Giants, and this is a step in that direction. Still a couple months before any sense of urgency sets in, however.

Posted: 4/23/2013 10:01pm et

New York Giants owner John Mara said WR Victor Cruz's contract situation would get resolved. "It will get done at some point," Mara said. "Just be patient."

Huddle Up: Really, Mr. Mara? You do own a team representing the Big Apple where patience might as well be a foreign word with media and fans alike.

Posted: 4/20/2013 2:01pm et

New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese said the team is not sure if restricted free-agent WR Victor Cruz will sign with the team before the start of the regular season. "I don't assume anything," Reese said. "We'll see. I can tell you this: when we get ready to play, when the season starts, we will have some good players out there. I'm not sure if Victor will be there or not."

Huddle Up: Seems like ominous words, but Cruz wants to be in New York and the Giants want him there so it's just a matter of time before the deal gets done.

Posted: 4/12/2013 2:17pm et

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz has told at least two people he plans to stay with the team long term. Cruz, according to two sources, wants to take advantage of the business and marketing opportunities he envisions with Roc Nation, the marketing company Jay-Z founded.

Huddle Up: No surprise here: Cruz is in a great situation, and the Giants don't want to lose a key member of their passing game. Now the two sides just need to come together on a mutually agreeable financial settlement and everyone will be happy.

Posted: 4/10/2013 9:20pm et

New York Giants restricted free-agent WR Victor Cruz has been catching passes from QB Eli Manning this week. Cruz is hoping to sign a long-term contract extension with the team to remain one of Manning's favorite targets. The Giants have until April 19 to make a contract offer to Cruz if another team wants to make a run at Cruz. New York would receive a first-round pick as compensation if they can't match another team's offer. Manning also worked out with WRs Hakeem Nicks and Louis Murphy.

Huddle Up: Giants fans are skittish as long as Cruz hasn't inked a long-term deal to remain in blue, but the fact that he's working out with the team's franchise quarterback should indicate his intention is to remain with the Giants.

Posted: 4/3/2013 2:19pm et

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz's recent change in his representation to CAA was made in anticipation of Jay-Z's Roc Nation and their pending affiliation with the group.

Huddle Up: This is a big deal because of the impending negotiations for Cruz's new deal. On the bright side, the change in representation should give Cruz a leg up when he launches his hip-hop career.

Posted: 3/18/2013 12:01am et

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay did not deny the team is still pursuing a free-agent help at the wide receiver position, but denied the team is in the hunt for one specific receiver. 'It's not (restricted free-agent New York Giants WR Victor Cruz),' Irsay said Sunday, March 17.

Huddle Up: As long as Cruz is waiting for a new deal from the Giants, his name is going to keep getting recycled through the rumor mill. That's to be expected after recording back-to-back seasons with at least 82 catches, 1,082 yards and 9 TDs playing for a team in the league's biggest media market.

Posted: 2/6/2013 4:15pm et

The New York Giants likely will place the first-round tender offer on restricted free-agent WR Victor Cruz this offseason. The first-round tender is expected to be worth $2.879 million.

Huddle Up: It's a no-brainer for the Giants to keep Cruz around, especially at such a reasonable price--and since they've cleared more than enough cap space just this week with the release of three veterans.

Posted: 2/3/2013 1:17pm et

The New York Giants are putting a bigger emphasis at this time on signing WR Hakeem Nicks to a long-term deal than restricted free-agent WR Victor Cruz, according to league sources. Nicks has one year remaining on his contract, but the team would like to lock him up as they view him as a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver. The Giants also would like to keep Cruz, but at this time, Nicks' contract status is the higher priority.

Huddle Up: While Nicks, a 2009 first-round pick, may have more potential, he's also been more of a health risk as he's yet to play a full, 16-game season in any of his 4 years in the NFL.

Posted: 2/1/2013 3:53pm et

New York Giants owner John Mara said that signing WR Victor Cruz to a new contract is a high priority, but not the team's only priority. Mara said the team would tender him if they cannot come to an agreement on a new deal.

Huddle Up: Whether or not the Giants and Cruz can come to terms on a long-term agreement, he'll be catching passes from Eli Manning in 2013.

Posted: 1/31/2013 12:28pm et

New York Giants impending restricted free-agent WR Victor Cruz said he thinks he's a priority for the team to re-sign; however, he added there are no contract talks going on right now.

Huddle Up: Patience, Victor: The offseason isn't even here yet. Once the confetti flies and the new Super Bowl champ is crowned, teams will start seriously getting down to 2013 business.

Posted: 1/28/2013 3:49pm et

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz had 10 receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown in the Pro Bowl Sunday, Jan. 27. The 10 receptions were a Pro Bowl record.

Huddle Up: That's one way to save the Pro Bowl: have it be more like the NHL all-star game, where defense is optional.

Posted: 12/29/2012 10:40pm et

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz said he is not worried about not having a new contract at this point because his representatives are in negotiations with the team. 'I think we're still moving in the right direction. It's a negotiation. Everything's not gonna happen the way you want it to. We're just going back and forth, and hopefully we'll get things squared away,' Cruz said.

Huddle Up: Cruz, who's far and away the Giants' leader with 82 catches for 1,040 yards and 9 TDs, has nonetheless let down his fantasy owners the past 2 weeks with only 6 grabs for 36 yards and no TDs. He does have a chance, though, to finish on an up note Sunday against a Philly secondary which surrenders the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing wideouts.

Posted: 12/10/2012 4:15pm et

New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said WR Victor Cruz (shoulder) is fine despite having his shoulder examined during the team's Week 14 game.

Huddle Up: Cruz looked pretty shaken up on the play and looked to be in a lot of pain. Of course after that he torched the Saints secondary a couple of times so no worries here apparently.

Posted: 10/31/2012 12:01am et

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz said Tuesday, Oct. 30, that everything was 'moving in the right direction' on a contract extension. 'From what I hear, they've just agreed on the structure right now,' Cruz said. 'And that's all I'm at liberty to say.' The team owes Cruz $540,000 for this season, and then he is set to become a restricted free agent.

Huddle Up: As has been said in this space before, Cruz deserves every penny as he has shown with his performance this season that he was no one-season flash in the pan. Cruz currently is tied with the Bengals' A.J. Green for the most fantasy points among WRs with 107 (Huddle Performance scoring) and has the top all to himself in PPR leagues.

Posted: 10/25/2012 12:08pm et

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz said he would never be a holdout during the season in order to receive a new contract from the team. "Never happening," Cruz said, responding to a suggestion that he should hold out now. "If I'm gonna do that, I might as well do that in the beginning of the season, not wait when I'm doing so well and then hold out. I want to continue to help my team win. I want to win championships. I want to win football games. I'm not holding out just because I want to worry about a contract and the team's going to panic if I hold out. That's not me. I just want to continue to play football and be myself." The Giants do not appear to have any incentive to award Cruz with a new contract, unless the deal is considered team-friendly. WR Hakeem Nicks will want a new deal at the end of this season as well, and having two No. 1-type receivers gives the team a cushion, allowing them to let the season play out and use the remaining nine games as data to help them decide what to do with both Nicks and Cruz.

Huddle Up: Both receivers can expect to get paid this offseason, but not necessarily by the Giants. New York has demonstrated plenty of receiver depth with Nicks missing time due to injuries, so if they're unable or unwilling to carve out enough cap space for both there's a market that will be more than willing to make Nicks and/or Cruz very rich men.

Posted: 10/24/2012 12:06am et

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz is hoping to get a contract extension completed before the end of the season.

Huddle Up: If Cruz hasn't earned an extension now, he likely never will. He ranks second among all fantasy WRs with 105 total points (Huddle Performance scoring) and has been on an extra-spicy tear of late with a combined 27 receptions, 348 yards and 6 TDs over the Giants' past 4 games.

Posted: 10/16/2012 7:33pm et

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz got treatment Monday, Oct. 15, on the knee he hit on the turf in his team's Week 6 game, but said the knee felt good Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Huddle Up: Cruz insists his knee is fine, which would be a sigh of relief for the Giants, who already are dealing with Hakeem Nicks' weekly injury drama. As always, the best course is to wait and see what Cruz is able to do this week in practice.

Posted: 10/14/2012 11:31pm et

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz (knee) banged his knee in the second half of the Week 6 game against the San Francisco 49ers, but he said after the game he doesn't expect it to be an issue. Cruz added that he will not even require any further tests.

Huddle Up: An injury is just about the only thing that could slow Cruz at this point. On Sunday, he led the Giants with 6 catches for 58 yards and hauled in a TD reception for the third straight game.

Posted: 10/6/2012 7:30pm et

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz has caught only four passes of 20 yards or more this season after making 29 of those catches last season. Cruz's 32 receptions and 388 yards are near the top of the NFL leaders in those categories but defenses are working on limiting his deep threat opportunities.

Huddle Up: Defenses have been able to focus on Cruz with fellow WR Hakeem Nicks missing half of the Giants' 4 games so far. The underneath stuff is still there with Cruz still averaging 8 catches per game, but his yard-per-catch average is down more than 6 yards (18.7-12.1) from last season.

Posted: 9/6/2012 10:54am et

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz said he lacked focus in the team's Week 1 game which led to three dropped passes. "They were just drops," Cruz said. "I just lacked concentration. A couple of them were just me leaving too early before I caught the ball. It is what it is." Cruz dropped three passes in a single game for the first time in his career; he had never dropped more than one pass in a regular season game prior to Week 1. Cruz is the first Giants player with three drops in a game since 2009.

Huddle Up: Cruz dropped 11 balls a year ago and unfortunately is well on his way to besting that total in 2012. Or perhaps this is the wake-up call Cruz and the Giants needed to take the Super Bowl follow-up season off of cruise control. No pun intended.