New York Giants: Victor Cruz leaves complicated legacy

Fans of the New York Giants still love newly-retired wide receiver Victor Cruz even if Cruz hasn’t always loved the club back.

Victor Cruz once accused quarterback Eli Manning and the New York Giants of sabotaging his career. Fans don’t want to focus on that the same day the former New York wide receiver announced that he was ending any attempts to continue his NFL career and joining ESPN to work as an NFL analyst. Instead, those individuals want to remember Cruz’s highlights that involved him dancing after scoring touchdowns and helping Big Blue win a Super Bowl.

Those memories don’t erase the fact Cruz threw Manning and the Giants under the bus in 2017 after the Giants released him. As explained by Zach Braziller of the New York Post, Cruz claimed that he wasn’t adequately targeted during his last season with the Giants so that the club could part ways with him. He later hinted that headlines and posts about his comments were misleading, almost as if there wasn’t video of his exact comments available for everybody to witness.

Cruz’s words are no less ridiculous in August 2018 than they were the second they left his mouth. To even suggest that Manning, a two-time champion and two-time Super Bowl MVP who is the undisputed greatest offensive player in the 90+-year history of the franchise, ignored an open Cruz during games because he and others within the organization were concerned about future salary cap situations is beyond laughable. It’s embarrassing, and not for Manning.

Cruz wasn’t the first person to put his foot in his mouth when speaking about Manning and the Giants after departing East Rutherford. Former running back Tiki Barber became a villain among some fans after taking shots at Manning. Amani Toomer once stated that Tony Romo was better than Manning. Plaxico Burress apparently believed Manning should have been more supportive after Burress accidentally shot himself and sunk the team’s chances of repeating as Super Bowl champs in the process. That roster was probably the best Giants squad of Manning’s career.

Time heals all wounds, so the saying goes, and the Giants honored Cruz via social media posts on Tuesday. It’s the classy response one has come to expect from the organization. A player produces while with the team. He and the club go in different directions for whatever reasons. That guy speaks poorly about the team and about its greatest QB. The Giants give him a tribute when he retires. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Once a Giant, always a Giant. It’s the mantra and hashtag that accompanies these online cap-tips. That’s fine. Do you know who has always taken the high road since 2004? Eli Manning. Even when former coach Ben McAdoo ridiculously benched Manning in favor of Geno Smith and was subsequently fired, Manning still went to bat for him. Manning is the quintessential face of a franchise.

Lest we forget, Manning is as responsible for Cruz’s NFL successes as was Cruz. Cruz went undrafted in 2010, but he became a favorite Manning target during the 2011 campaign after an injury ended Steve Smith’s tenure with the Giants. Cruz evolved into a home-run hitter capable of scoring a 99-yard touchdown against the New York Jets and of catching a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl playing alongside the only real offensive CEO he played with as a pro.

The sky was the limit for Cruz until October 2014, when, like the previously mentioned Smith, an injury sparked the beginning of the end of his New York career. Cruz worked to come back from that horrific incident in which he suffered a torn patellar tendon, but he wasn’t the same dynamic presence. After the 2016 campaign, Cruz spent time with the Chicago Bears, but he didn’t make the team’s final roster before the start of the 2017 regular season. He never played a down of regular season football again.

It’s a shame Cruz couldn’t enjoy a full career prime because of what occurred in Philadelphia that fateful fall evening. It’s too bad he once felt the need to blame the Giants for what happened rather than say he was a victim of misfortune and a bad break. Perhaps Cruz will stand as an example of how players should and should not conduct themselves during and after their playing days with the organization. Some life lessons are hard learned.

Once a Giant, always a Giant. It’d be nice if players remembered that as much as the club does, particularly when commenting on a future Hall of Famer who should have his number retired by the franchise soon after he takes his last snap under center.