On Monday, the Giants would have had the ability on that day -- and that day only -- to rescind receiver Victor Cruz’s one-year, $2.879 million restricted free agency tender and replace it with a one-year offer in the amount of $590,000.
Despite the absence of any indication that the team planned to inflame the situation by dropping Cruz’s one-year pay by more than $2 million, Cruz is taking no chances.
Per Josina Anderson of ESPN, Cruz will sign his tender today. Cruz told Anderson that talks on a long-term deal will continue between now and the start of training camp.
While Cruz will be under contract once he signs, it’s impossible to rule out a training-camp holdout absent a multi-year contract. Even though the daily fines have gotten much more expensive under the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement, it will be far cheaper in the long run for Cruz to hold out and incur fines while under contract at $2.879 million than to risk losing more than $2 million in potential earnings by not signing the tender before Monday.
So, while Cruz has blinked for now, he could still draw a line in the sand when it’s time to go to camp.
UPDATE 1:30 p.m. ET: Actually, Cruz would have been entitled to $630,000 under the reduced tender, since $630,000 is the minimum salary for a fourth-year plater.