After Eli Manning, wide receiver Victor Cruz has the biggest salary cap hit on the New York Giant's roster at $8.125 million. Cruz has four years left on a deal he signed in 2013 that will pay him an average annual salary of $7.5 million. The question is, does he deserve that much money at this point?
"Now, if Cruz produces the way he produced in the two years before he signed the deal - two years in which he averaged 84 catches, 1,314 yards and 9.5 touchdowns - these numbers are no problem," ESPN Giants reporter Dan Graziano wrote. "However, his production dropped in 2013 (73 catches, 998 yards, 4 touchdowns and missed the final two games due to injury). And in the sixth game of the 2014 season, he tore the patellar tendon in his right knee and had to have major surgery that ended his season."
A patellar tendon tear is a notoriously difficult injury to fully recover from. While Cruz and the Giants remain optimistic, rumors are there are some in the organization who don't believe Cruz will ever regain his former explosiveness and ability. Cruz is known as a hard worker and is a locker room favorite in New York. He's a team guy in an era of diva wide receivers. And he's only 28 years old. But the Giants have to think long-term here. If there are serious doubts about how much Cruz can help this team, a contract restructuring could be viewed as a necessary step.
"But this is a cold business, this NFL contract business," Graziano wrote. "And with Odell Beckham Jr. having exploded onto the scene as a superstar talent and producer in Cruz's absence, the Giants may well have the leverage they need to seek a reduction in Cruz's salary over the remaining four years of the deal. And it might be in their best salary-cap interest to seek that reduction. They can point out the 12 missed games over the past two years and use Beckham's emergence to help their case and maybe shave a couple of million bucks off of that cup number this year."
The Giants finished this past season just 6-10, so it's not as if they can afford to overpay on a gamble. New York needs all hands on deck to get back to the post-season and remain competitive in Manning's twilight years. Unfortunately, that does not leave them with a lot of options when it comes to their veteran star receiver.
"Cutting Cruz would only save the Giants $2.425 million cap space this year, so assuming they believe he's going to make it all the way back that's not a worthwhile way to go. But given the way things have gone since Cruz signed that deal a year and a half ago, it's not crazy to at least look at making some changes to it."
