Post by Admin on Feb 14, 2017 16:20:16 GMT -4
The New York Giants released wide receiver Victor Cruz on Monday, the team announced in a release.
The Giants also parted ways with running back Rashad Jennings, who led the team with 593 rushing yards on 181 carries last season.
Cruz, 30, had just 39 catches for 586 yards and one touchdown last season, his first since missing the previous year and a half after a torn patellar tendon and calf surgery. Rookie wide receiver Sterling Shepard took over Cruz's role in the slot.
“It’s been an amazing journey,” Cruz said in a release. “I pretty much grew up in front of the eyes of this entire organization. The Giants fan base, the community, my hometown, my family. I grew up there. It’s very much a family atmosphere and it’s very much like leaving your family. That’s what it feels like. I did some great things there. There are so many experiences, times and moments that I shared in that building with that team in that jersey. Those can’t be replaced or forgotten. I’m happy I have those moments to look back on.”
A Pro Bowl selection in 2012, Cruz reworked his contract last year but was due $7.5 million if retained in 2017.
Cruz, who was not drafted out of UMass, made his first splash by scoring three touchdowns in a 2010 preseason game against the New York Jets. However a hamstring injury prevented him from playing in the regular season.
Cruz made his official debut in 2011, catching 82 passes for a Giants single-season record 1,536 yards, and went on to win a ring after the team's upset of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.
Cruz was a near instant superstar given his Paterson, N.J., roots and his salsa dance touchdown celebration, which he utilized to honor his late grandmother. Madonna later imitated it prior to performing at Super Bowl XLVI.
“Victor is one of the great stories of the National Football League,” general manager Jerry Reese said in a release. “He came in here and earned everything that he’s gotten. It has been amazing to see him grow from an undrafted free agent to a Pro Bowl player and one of our go-to guys during the Super Bowl XLVI run. He will always be one of the great Giants.”
