Cruz may be back, but with pay cut
INDIANAPOLIS — Victor Cruz thinks there’s a very good chance he’ll be back with the Giants next season. Ben McAdoo thinks the chances are even better than that.
One day after Cruz was quoted saying there was “about (an) 80 percent” chance he’d return to the Giants in 2016, McAdoo said he “absolutely” wants the 29-year-old receiver back with Big Blue. McAdoo even sounded optimistic about Cruz’s rehabilitation from his torn calf muscle and injured knee.
“He was by the office the other day, just kind of bouncing around, doing some rehab,” McAdoo said at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. “He seems in good spirits. Looks great. Feels good. Hopefully we get a chance to get him healthy.”
That may be up to Cruz, who hasn’t played a football game since Oct. 12, 2014, and whether he’ll be willing to accept a massive pay cut from the Giants. The six-year vet is due to make $7.9 million next season and his salary cap number of $9.9 million. That’s far too much for a player coming off two major injuries and nearly two years in between games.
The Giants could clear $6.1 million in cap space for this offseason by cutting Cruz. But they chose not to do that earlier this month when they cut linebacker Jon Beason and offensive linemen Will Beatty and Geoff Schwartz in cost-cutting moves. That would seem to indicate the Giants are planning to keep him around if he’ll agree to a cut in pay, which is what a team source told the Daily News would likely happen.
It’s unclear if any discussions on that pay cut have taken place, but Cruz’s “80 percent” comment to USA Today seemed to be an indication he at least knows what the Giants want him to do. Most likely they’ll ask him to reduce his 2016 salary to somewhere in the range of $1 million with the chance to earn some of it back in incentives if he makes the team and can still produce. That would allow him to at least continue in the Giants’ offseason program and to take his shot at a comeback during training camp this summer.
McAdoo didn’t sound like he thought a comeback was a longshot at all.
“He feels good, he looks good,” McAdoo said. “He’s coming along in rehab, no hiccups so far, so we like that. We’re encouraged with that right there.
Still, if Cruz doesn’t agree to the pay cut the Giants would likely cut him. It’s also likely a decision on his future will have to be made before the free-agent signing period opens on March 9. McAdoo seemed to think things would work out between Cruz and the Giants, though he left the door at least a little open in case they don’t.
“You know, right now we’re taking a look at things and he’s on the roster right now,” McAdoo said. “If anything changes, I’ll be the first to know.”