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Giants' Cruz: Midseason Holdout For New Deal Would 'Never Happen'

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Victor Cruz wants a raise, but he's not about to force the Giants' hand with drastic measures.

Former NFL offensive lineman -- and current football analyst -- Ross Tucker tweeted on Wednesday that Cruz "should consider sitting out until he gets a new deal" to avoid a potential contract-killing injury.

Cruz's response: It'll "never happen."

"I want to continue to help my team win. I want to win championships. I want to win football games," Cruz said Wednesday. "I'm not just holding out because I want to worry about a contract, and the team's going to panic if I hold out. That's not me."

The Giants owe a total of $540,000 to Cruz for his services this season, after which the star wide receiver will become a restricted free agent. He's scheduled for unrestricted free agency in 2014.

The 25-year-old proclaimed his desire for a new deal after New York won the Super Bowl in February -- and it would certainly be well-deserved. Cruz, now a household name, set a franchise record with 1,536 receiving yards in 2011.

Cruz promised not to hold out of training camp, and sure enough he showed up in shape and on time. On Tuesday, he told WFAN's Mike Francesa that he's hoping to ink a new deal this season.

"We don't want to drag it along and become something that blocks the team in the offseason … something that is in the media every day," Cruz told Francesa.

Enter Tucker, who said perhaps a midseason holdout should be in Cruz's playbook because "$285K for next 9 weeks not worth injury risk."

"If I'm going to do that, I might as well do it at the beginning of the season," Cruz said, "not wait until I'm doing well and just hold out."

Cruz has 50 receptions for 627 yards and seven touchdowns in seven games this season.

If you were Jerry Reese, you'd offer Cruz $_____ over _____ years. Fill in the blanks in the comments below...

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