Panthers Hosted Veteran WR Victor Cruz For Visit

Update:

Kimberly Jones reports that Victor Cruz has left his visit with the Panthers and doesn’t have any other visits scheduled as of now. According to Jones, Cruz is taking a “wait-and-see” approach in finding his next team.

• Art Stapleton reports that Cruz’s visit with Panthers “went well” and there appears to be mutual interest between the two parties.
• Stapleton considers the Panthers to be a “strong suitor” for Cruz but nothing is considered imminent at this point in time. According to Stapleton, the two sides are likely to continue talking in the coming weeks.
• As of now, Cruz doesn’t have any other visits lined up.

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Mike Garafolo of NFL Media confirms that free agent WR Victor Cruz is visiting with the Panthers, but the meeting is taking place on Monday.

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Bill Voth of the Black & Blue Review, citing a league source, reports that the Panthers and GM Dave Gettleman hosted veteran WR Victor Cruz for a visit this past weekend.

Voth adds that Cruz ultimately left town without a contract and he’s expected to speak to at least one other team.

There’s an obvious connection between the Panthers and Cruz, considering that Gettleman was in New York with him before taking the GM position with the Panthers.

Carolina could use some help at receiver but there are questions about what Cruz has left to offer at this point in his career.

The Broncos have also been tossed out as a potential option for Cruz. However, recent reports have said that Denver hasn’t contacted him up to this point.

Cruz, 30, originally signed on with the Giants as an undrafted free agent out of UMass back in 2010. He agreed to restructure his contract last year, which reduced his compensation to $1.3 million for the 2016 season. Cruz was set to make a base salary of $7.4 million in 2017.

Cruz was set to make a base salary of $7.4 million in 2017 when the Giants cut him loose in a move that freed up $7.5 million in available cap space.

In 2016, Cruz appeared in 15 games for the Giants and caught 39 passes for 586 yards receiving and one touchdown. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 101 receiver out of 119 qualifying players.