New York Giants: Victor Cruz Contract An Issue
The New York Giants are in the midst of figuring out just who they want to go after once NFL free agency starts in a few weeks, as well as figure out what they need to do in the draft in a few months.
They should have a lot of money to play with, as the expected salary cap should be in the 155 million dollar range. That would roughly give the Giants about 58 million to play with. But are there current contracted players on the team that need a close look at as well in terms of contract issues?
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The answer, when it comes to oft-injured WR Victor Cruz, is yes.
Cruz, who any Giants fan knows suffered a horrible knee injury about halfway through the 2014 season, has now missed the last 26 regular season games. That means the Giants have paid Cruz, per sportrac.com, roughly over 12 million dollars to watch from the sidelines over the last year and a half, including 8.125 million last season. That’s a lot of money for someone to cheer his teammates on from the bench.
Sure, there is no doubt everyone wants to see Cruz back on the field and fulfilling the dream most GMEN fans have had for the last two years: playing alongside All-Pro Odell Beckham Jr. for more than just a few games. But at what cost? Cruz is fairly confident he will be back for the start of the 2016 season, but what if he’s wrong? He thought he could do the same in 2015, and he never made it out of practice.
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Presently, Cruz is scheduled to be paid close to 10 million dollars in 2016, and that currently does not include any type of roster bonus, per sportrac.com. That’s a lot of guaranteed money to pay a guy who hasn’t sniffed an NFL game since 2014. The Giants and Cruz need to get together and come up with a contract re-work that is fair to both sides.
The good news is there are ways to do that without Cruz taking a big pay cut. DE Jason Pierre-Paul was given a contract last season that allowed him to earn pretty big bucks based on the number of snaps he played. The Giants needed to know JPP was fully recovered from his horrific fireworks accident, and didn’t want to guarantee him money if, a game or two into his return, he couldn’t stay on the field.
Sounds like the same problem Cruz has, and while he’s not in the position to play for a big payday, as he is signed to a multi-year deal, he does need to prove he can play multiple games at a high level before New York should pay him what he is scheduled to make in 2016.
If Cruz refuses to re-work his deal, the Giants may have no choice but to cut him in the hopes they can force Cruz to re-sign at a lower cost with either a team friendly one year “prove it” deal, or at least a lower multi-year contract. That sounds like a bad thing, and most fans who hate the thought of that still see Cruz running down the sideline for his 99 yard TD against the Jets in 2011. But he’s got to show he’s still that guy.
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Face it; The salsa dance hasn’t been done by Cruz on the field in a long, long time. GM Jerry Reese needs to face reality and use logic when making these types of tough decisions. Cruz was a great player and was given a deal worthy of his explosive play-making. He may not be that guy anymore, and paying him like he is doesn’t make sense.