Victor Cruz wonders why Giants haven’t reached out to him for receiver help
Victor Cruz of the New York Giants acknowledges the fans after a victory against the Detroit Lions at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016 in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Victor Cruz believes “one thousand percent” that he could help the receiver-needy Giants.
That sentiment, apparently, is not mutual.
While the Giants are heading through the rest of the season without Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall and Dwayne Harris, and will be without Sterling Shepard for the foreseeable future, they have not reached out to Cruz about a reunion. It’s left the former Giants star scratching his head, wondering why the bridge has been dismantled so quickly.
“I’ve been literally thinking to myself of reasons why they wouldn’t and I can’t think of any,” Cruz said on his Uninterrupted podcast, “The Victor Cruz Show.”
Cruz played seven seasons for the Giants, was a key ingredient of the 2011 Super Bowl run and finished his tenure with the team with 303 catches, 4,549 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was released by the Giants this offseason and signed with the Bears but was cut by them before the start of this season.
There was a flash of bad blood between the two sides. Shortly after his release from the Giants, Cruz suggested that he was sabotaged by a lack of targets in the 2016 season. On Monday, the day after the receivers were injured, head coach Ben McAdoo was asked if Cruz could be in the team’s plans.
“To my knowledge, he is not an option,” McAdoo said.
Cruz did reach out to the Giants through his agent after the four receivers left Sunday’s game with their injuries.
“They told him they were going to assess their injuries and see exactly where they are and get back to him,’’ Cruz said.
Instead, the Giants have decided to fill their void by bringing back Tavarres King and promoting Travis Rudolph and Ed Eagan from the practice squad.
That hasn’t stopped Cruz from dreaming about what it might be like to be back on the field with the Giants.
“Can I paint a picture for you?’’ Cruz said. “Can you imagine, if I get a phone call from the New York Giants and I go back out there wearing the number 80 in blue and I get in that end zone one more time? Do you understand? I can already hear the deafening screams from the crowd. Already, I can hear it.’’
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
