Where are they now?: Victor Cruz finding success in retirement
NEW YORK (BVM) – Victor Cruz’s iconic salsa dance once captured the attention of NFL spectators and defensive backs alike. As the former wide receiver celebrated each of his nine touchdowns in 2011, so did the New York Giants in a second memorable Super Bowl run past the Tom Brady–led New England Patriots.
Now, the former six-year NFL vet has found a way to get involved in a handful of new endeavors in his post-football career, still finding ways to stay relevant around the game.
Victor Cruz’s NFL career
Coming in as an undrafted rookie, Cruz impressed during his time before the regular season, leading the league in receiving yards during the preseason. Following appearances in the first three games, Cruz’s momentum would be sidelined following a hamstring injury that put him on injured reserve for the remainder of the year.
Entering his second season as more of an afterthought, Cruz would take the NFL scene by storm, surprising as one of Eli Manning’s go-to targets to open up the 2011 campaign. Not even the 6-foot wideout could have guessed he’d have as successful a season as he did, racking up 82 receptions, 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns. The standout year correlated with the Giants’ surprising 9-7 campaign that led to a remarkable playoff run.
The wideout becoming a focal point of the Giants’ offense would continue during the team’s postseason run as he racked up 10 receptions and 142 yards against San Francisco in the NFC Championship game. He would follow that up with a touchdown in the team’s 21-17 Super Bowl win over the Patriots, as New York capped off its surprising playoff feat.
The Giants wide receiver would find similar success in 2012 making his first and only Pro Bowl appearance after another 1,000–yard receiving season, as he topped his receptions from the year prior with 86. The season would lead to a five-year, $43 million contract extension in 2013.
Cruz looked like he would once again top the 1K mark for receiving yards during his fourth season, but his year would unfortunately be cut short as the then-27-year-old receiver sustained a sprained left knee and a concussion against the Seattle Seahawks in the final month of the regular season. He would finish just two yards shy of the milestone.
The injuries would start to pile up for Cruz in the following seasons, as the wideout tore his patellar tendon against the Philadelphia Eagles after just six games in 2014. The rehab would keep him sidelined for the entire 2015 season and after finally getting back in his age 30 year, Cruz would end up taking a backseat in production to Odell Beckham Jr.
Cruz would wind up on the Chicago Bears during the team’s training camp period in 2017 but was released in early September of that year.
Victor Cruz before the NFL
The New Jersey native starred in his hometown of Paterson and after showing out as a wide receiver and kick returner at Paterson Catholic High School, Cruz, however, would not find the same success when it came to his recruiting period. After signing a letter of intent to play at UMass in February 2004, Cruz would be unable to make it to the school until the following year based on his high school grades. He would have to attend Bridgton Academy, a postgraduate school in Maine, after not qualifying academically for Amherst.
The downward trend when it came to academics continued for Cruz who was kicked out of UMass for his 1.7 grade point average in the spring of 2007. The star wideout would find his focus in the classroom, returning for the 2007 fall season as he secured his first ever collegiate reception during his redshirt sophomore year. Cruz would go on to rack up 1,958 receiving yards in his career before going undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft.
Victor Cruz post-NFL career
After retiring from the league in 2018, Cruz joined ESPN as an NFL analyst and even later hosted the first season of MTV’s The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros. Cruz has continued to try his hand in television and finds himself in both the entertainment and sports industry, recently working with E! News.
Throughout his NFL career, Cruz has reportedly made nearly $30 million. According to numerous outlets, the former wideout is still worth around $20 million as he finds time for his newest opportunities.
Cruz has focused on a lot during his post-football career and after welcoming the birth of his daughter, Kennedy, in 2012, has continued to stay busy as a father as well.
