Giants reportedly set to release Victor Cruz, Rashad Jennings
Receiver Victor Cruz is beloved by New York Giants fans – he grew up not far from MetLife Stadium in Paterson, N.J., and he rose to salsa-dancing stardom despite being an undrafted rookie from a then-FCS level football program.
But he’s likely played his final game for Big Blue. As first reported by Art Stapleton of The (N.J.) Record, the Giants are releasing Cruz on Monday.
And Cruz isn’t the only starter being let go: ESPN Giants reporter Jordan Ranaan tweeted that the team is also parting ways with running back Rashad Jennings.
In 2014, Cruz suffered a devastating knee injury against the Philadelphia Eagles, tearing his patellar tendon. But Cruz fought back and took part in training camp in 2015, only to be felled by a calf injury that wound up costing him the entire season.
He was ready for the 2016 season, scoring the game-winning touchdown in the season opener. Cruz played in 15 games, starting 12, though that Sept. 11 touchdown was the only one he had all season; the former Pro Bowler finished fourth on the team in receptions, with 39 for 586 yards.
Jennings now finds himself on the wrong side of 30 – he’ll be 32 years old next month – and also saw his yards per attempt drop from 4.4 YPA in 2015 to 3.3 last season.
Releasing Cruz is a big money-saver for the Giants: he was scheduled to count $9.4 million against the salary cap, but now will count just $1.9 million, the remainder of his pro-rated signing bonus. Cutting Jennings will save the Giants $2.5 million.
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