Giants Get Back to Work

The New York Giants will face tax day as a team this tear as they begin their “Voluntary” work out program Monday April 15th.  To put the word voluntary on anything associated with Tom Coughlin is a bit of a misnomer, but they are officially voluntary in the eyes of the NFLPA.  Here is the complete schedule:

The Giants will start their voluntary offseason workout program on Apr. 15.

OTA workouts: May 22-23, May 29-31 and June 3-7

Giants mandatory minicamp: June 11-13

The talk of course is all about who shows and who doesn’t, but barring injury rehabbing players most guys will be in attendance.  The one name that will cause the most buzz of course is Victor Cruz.  Cruz did show up at the Manning workouts last week and it would seem silly for Victor to choose not to show up again this week in New Jersey.  The one thing for me that points to Victor Cruz definitely planning on attending this week is the following story:

"According to Ed Werder of ESPN, New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz isn’t expected to report to next week’s voluntary workouts. Cruz still hasn’t signed his restricted free agent tender as he continues to wait for a lucrative long-term contract from the Giants."

While it’s true he hasn’t yet signed his tender, he is in no way “Waiting” for a lucrative deal….they have offered one, and the two sides are continuing to negotiate in good faith.  To use the fact that it’s not signed yet as the reason why he won’t show up Monday shows a complete misunderstanding of the process.  Couldn’t he be waiting to sign it while at the facility on Monday? Wouldn’t it show his commitment to the team to participate fully in the workouts?  It’s the new NFL after all where the players won’t even pretend to touch each other…there is no more risk of injury than there is in walking down the street.

So…Back to work Monday…The schedule is revealed Tuesday, and the draft begins the following Thursday in New York.