Wide receiver Victor Cruz made it back to the Giants lineup in 2016 after two seasons lost to injury, but the team will be moving on without him in 2017.
According to multiple reports, the Giants will release Cruz on Monday. The move creates $7.5 million in cap space for the Giants.
Cruz said recently that he wanted to stay with the Giants, something that would have almost certainly required him to take a pay cut for the second straight season as he was set to count $9.4 million against the cap in 2017. A lower salary wouldn’t have done anything to solve the issue of having a veteran receiver best suited to playing in the slot on an offense with 2016 rookie Sterling Shepard playing the same role at an even lower cost.
Cruz caught 39 passes for 586 yards and a touchdown in 2016 and made some big plays early in the year, but his production slowed to 15 catches over the final nine games of the regular season. Playing out of the slot didn’t suit him all that well, so he’ll likely look for a team where he can fill that spot on the roster.
