Victor Cruz Is Smart Not to Hold out on New York Giants

Victor Cruz has claimed that he is not planning to hold out on the New York Giants this fall, which would be a smart move.

The salsa-dancing receiver had a huge year in 2011 while helping the Giants win a Super Bowl title. Despite that, he's only set to make a paltry $540,000 in 2012, which is far below what a guy who put up his numbers in 2011 deserves to be paid. That said, the best recipe for getting the kind of money he obviously wants is to play while the team negotiates a new deal with him.

When asked about a potential holdout on Tuesday, Cruz claimed (via Tom Rock of Newsday) that the word wasn't in his vocabulary and that he didn't know what it meant. That is a great sign for the Giants, since earlier in the offseason the 25-year-old receiver claimed he deserved to be paid more.

In 2011 Cruz made just $450,000 while he caught 82 passes for 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns. He was a second-team All-Pro pick, and he set the Giants' single-season receiving yardage record.

Clearly Cruz needs a new contract after showing up the way he did in 2011. He is scheduled to become a restricted free agent after the 2012 season, and considering that he is still very young, the Giants would do well to lock up the UMass product.

With fellow receiver Mario Manningham now off to San Francisco to play for the 49ers, Cruz has become even more important to the Giants. While I believe him when he says he isn't planning a holdout, Cruz's mind may change as training camp gets closer and his value to the team increases.

I appreciate that Cruz doesn't plan on holding out. After all, that is the way things should be done. Guys should practice and play while they have contracts, even if they want to negotiate a new deal. That said, he does deserve a raise, and the Giants would do well to get him locked up as soon as possible and not have this drag out into the season.

We've seen what not paying a guy who has earned a raise can lead to with the Chicago Bears and running back Matt Forte. The Giants and Cruz definitely do not want to go there.