Victor Cruz – © USA TODAY Sports Images
New York Giants and Cruz Officially Agree to a 6-Year, $45.879 Million Contract: The Giants and WR Victor Cruz have agreed to a 6-year, $45.879 million dollar contract that supposedly includes $15.6 million in guaranteed money. Officially speaking, the contract is a 5-year, $43 million extension, but that includes the 1-year, $2.879 million restricted free agent tender Cruz signed last month. Cruz is now signed through the 2018 season.
“We are pleased to have this behind us,” said General Manager Jerry Reese. “Now Victor can focus on football. Training camp is approaching quickly, and we all have a lot of work to do to get back where we want to be.”
“I feel relief,” said Cruz. “I feel I can just kick back and play football again.”
Many Giants’ fans were worried and frustrated by the long contract talks. “I was in communication with my agent each and every day, every other day sometimes, and he assured me that things were moving in the right direction,” Cruz said. “There was never a time where I thought I wouldn’t be a Giant. It was just a matter of time, if I was going to be with them for one year or six. I’ll take the six right now obviously…I just knew that we were in this for the long haul, we were going to be patient and wait this thing out and make sure we made the right decision in the right way and not feel any regrets.”
In the last two regular seasons, Cruz has caught 168 passes for 2,628 yards (15.6 yards-per-catch) and 19 touchdowns.
“This is just another step to getting where I want to be at the end of my career,” said Cruz. “I love to do well for my team and do well each and every year and continue to prove myself and not feel complacent and not feel I’ve done enough. I want to continue to have catches and yards and touchdowns and help my team win and get to the playoffs and get to the Super Bowl. To do that in such an early part of my career was outstanding, but you want more, you want to continue to feel that. The work is just getting started for me. It’s a whole new window of opportunity, a whole new world for me after this contract.”
Cruz had missed all of the Giants’ offseason workout program, the Organized Team Activity (OTA) practices, and the June mini-camp.
“That was the hardest part for me,” Cruz said. “I’d see guys here and there, whether it was in the city or different spots around town. It was tough to talk to them, because they know I want to be there, they know that my heart was there, but it was the business side. It was hard for me to look them in the face and be sociable and be happy when I just wanted to be in that locker room and helping those guys out. Those are experiences and moments I’m missing. But they understand as much as I do that it’s a business. They just cared about having me when camp starts and for Week 1.”
“I’ve been getting some local guys I played with to throw to me,” said Cruz. “I’ve been training. During the offseason program here, I was trying to develop an offseason workout for myself with my trainer. I feel like I’m ready to go. I feel like I’m prepared. I feel good and I’m excited.”
“I think (Eli and I will) be okay in terms of coming into camp,” said Cruz. “Eli and I have a great rapport. I think we’re going to get together on our own before camp starts.”
“On the way here I was talking to my girlfriend,” Cruz said. “She said, ‘You fight 26 years all your life, up and down, going through the trials and tribulations, for this one day. To come from where I’ve come from – a lot of guys don’t see graduation day in college, let alone this day in the National Football League. Words can’t even describe how I feel. Words can’t even describe the energy that’s flowing through my body right now. It’s a beautiful, great feeling.”
“I don’t want to play anywhere else and financially my family is set for the rest of my life,” Cruz said.
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