Victor Cruz to Carolina? ‘We’re just going to continue to discuss it’

At the NFL Combine on Wednesday, Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman was asked about veteran receiver Victor Cruz’s recent visit to Charlotte.

“It went fine,” he said, and did not elaborate much more, except that the team wanted a physical from Cruz – and implied that Carolina hasn’t ruled him out of their 2017 free-agency picture just yet.

“We just shared ideas and wanted to get a physical on him,” said Gettleman. “Had him sitting with the coaches. We're just going to continue to discuss it.”

A source told the Observer last month that Cruz, released in February by the Giants, was in town meeting with Gettleman and his staff. Gettleman has history with Cruz from when was in the front office with New York.

Cruz became a Giants fan-favorite both for his production on the field – he had 3,626 receiving yards from 2011-13 before injuries hindered his performance – and his salsa dancing in the end zone. After recovering from patellar-tendon surgery, Cruz saw less production in 2016, with 586 yards in 12 starts, and was released by the Giants.

This story was originally published March 1, 2017 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Victor Cruz to Carolina? ‘We’re just going to continue to discuss it’."