Ex-Giants receiver Cruz retires
Former New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz has retired.
Cruz, 31, said he plans to join ESPN as an NFL analyst, and is scheduled to contribute to a variety of shows. He makes his ESPN debut today.
Injuries derailed Cruz’s career with the Giants, who released him in February last year. He suffered a torn patellar tendon in October 2014 and missed the entire 2015 season.
Cruz was a seven-year veteran and a 2012 Pro Bowl selection. He joined the Giants in 2010 as an undrafted free agent out of UMass. He had his first 1,000-yard season in 2011 and caught a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl victory that year over the Patriots.
Cruz had 303 catches for 4,549 yards and 25 touchdowns, including an NFL record-tying 99-yard reception in 2011. He was signed by the Chicago Bears in 2017 but cut in preseason.
Cruz burst onto the scene when he caught three touchdowns in a preseason game against the New York Jets in 2010. He made the roster but sat out with injury before breaking out in the 2011 season.
Falcons go careful
Julio Jones and Devonta Freeman are healthy and practicing at full speed again this week after various injuries last season but they will be held out for the third straight preseason game when the Atlanta Falcons visit the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday.
Coach Dan Quinn said the team decided during the offseason not to play Jones, a two-time All-Pro receiver, and Freeman, a former Pro Bowl running back, in exhibitions, so it’s likely neither will suit up until Atlanta opens the regular season Sept. 6 at Philadelphia . . . .
Carolina Panthers left tackle Matt Kalil underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and will be re-evaluated on a weekly basis. Kalil becomes Carolina’s third starting offensive lineman, and the second tackle, to go down with a knee injury.
The Panthers lost right tackle Daryl Williams, a second-team All-Pro in 2017, to a torn medial collateral ligament and dislocated patella, and guard Amini Silatolu to a torn meniscus. There is no timetable for their return.
Kalil signed a five-year, $55 million contract in 2017 to protect Cam Newton’s blindside, but he struggled last season.
Gordon nearly ready
Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson expects wide receiver Josh Gordon will be on the practice field “very soon.”
Gordon returned to the team Saturday following a three-weeks-plus absence connected to his recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. The former Pro Bowler has only been allowed to attend meetings and watch from the sideline since returning.
Gordon may need to be cleared by the NFL before he can practice.
Following the team’s final training camp practice yesterday, Jackson said the team is making sure Gordon is “in great shape, in a great place” before he begins practice . . . .
The Tennessee Titans agreed to a contract extension with receiver Rishard Matthews through 2019.
Matthews signed with Tennessee in March 2016 after spending the first four seasons of his career with Miami. Currently on the physically unable to perform list, Matthews had his best seasons since joining the Titans with 118 catches for 1,740 yards and 13 touchdowns in Tennessee . . . .
The New York Jets claimed placekicker Jason Myers off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks.
Ravens’ CB banned
Baltimore Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith was suspended for four games without pay for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The suspension stems from Smith’s behavior toward his ex-girlfriend.
Smith, who is entering his seventh season, played in 12 games last season before an Achilles tendon injury forced him to miss the final four games. During those four weeks, the 30 year old chose to accept an NFL suspension for using performance enhancers . . . .
Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera says rookie wide receiver D.J. Moore was “chastised” after the first-round draft pick from Maryland was cited for driving 113 mph in a work zone in Interstate 77 in Charlotte, N.C. The speed limit is 65 mph.
Moore was ticketed by North Carolina State Highway Patrol on Aug. 10 just before 3 a.m., after the team returned from its preseason game in Buffalo. Moore was on his way home and was said to be cooperative with state troopers. Moore has a court date set for October.