Yahoo – Victor Cruz Likely to Sign Long-Term Deal With Giants

Yahoo – Victor Cruz Likely to Sign Long-Term Deal With Giants:Yahoo! Sports is reporting that restricted free agent WR Victor Cruz’s new business relationship with entertainment mogul Jay-Z will likely keep Cruz with the Giants. Two sources told Yahoo that Cruz plans to sign a long-term deal and take advantages of business and marketing opportunities in the New York area off of the football field.

“(Cruz) told his agents not to sign him with another team because he wants to work with Jay-Z,” an unidentified source told Yahoo. “There might have been a couple of teams interested, but he didn’t want to go anywhere.”

Yahoo says a second unidentified source said Cruz has no desire to leave the Giants and has made no attempt to get an offer from another team.

The New York Post is reporting that the Giants have offered Cruz a 4- or 5-year deal, worth $29-36 million that includes $12-15 million in guaranteed money. In other words, if true, the Giants’ offer is slightly over $7 million per season. For more from The Post, see Cruz Not Gonna Get Wi$h by Paul Schwartz. The Daily News reports that Cruz wants a deal around $10 million per season and to date has rejected the $7 million per season offer.

Meanwhile, ESPN is reporting that Cruz will not report to the Giants’ “voluntary” offseason program that begins on April 15. Cruz has been working out with QB Eli Manning and fellow wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Louis Murphy in North Carolina.

The deadline for other teams to attempt to sign a restricted free agent to an offer sheet is April 19.

DE Justin Tuck on ESPN Radio: The audio of yesterday’s ESPN Radio interview with DE Justin Tuck is available at ESPN.com.

Article on DE Justin Tuck: Justin Tuck Hopes Victor Cruz Attends Offseason Program in ‘Good Faith’ by Jenny Vrentas of The Star-Ledger

Quotes: DE Justin Tuck on losing DE Osi Umenyiora: “You can never replace a guy like Osi. Everyone knows what he does on the field. A lot of people don’t understand how much of a help he is in the locker room and as a motivator. You see the things he’s able to do on the football field. We always have worked together to try and polish our game. Losing him is going to be a huge burden…He’s an All-Pro player. You don’t just go out to the market and pick out those. Plus, he’s been here all of his career, all of my career. You get accustomed to knowing things that don’t show up on tape, that don’t show up in the play call. There’s a certain chemistry you have with guys knowing the situation in games what they’re thinking. They know what you’re thinking. That takes time. You have to build that back with whoever it is who’s going to be in their place next year.”

Tuck on his offseason conversation with General Manager Jerry Reese about Tuck returning to his previous form: “It wasn’t like he had to tell me that. That’s where I was hoping we went. I came out of the meeting refreshed and feeling good about where we are and the rapport we have with Mr. Reese. Just play the game the way you know you can. That’s why I’m trying my best to get back to.”