Former Giants WR Victor Cruz Embarks on New Broadcasting Assignment

Victor Cruz will serve as an analyst for TNT Sports on Mountain West football contests.

New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz (80) and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) after the game. The New York Giants defeated the Baltimore Ravens 27-23 at MetLife Stadium on October 16, 2016. | Danielle Parhizkaran, The Record

After dabbling in various activities following his six-year career with the New York Giants, former receiver Victor Cruz is adding yet another item to his growing post-playing career resume.

Cruz was recently announced as part of a new college football broadcasting lineup for TNT Sports. He’ll be part of the in-studio lineup covering the opening week of Mountain West football coverage, which will be broadcast on truTV and Max.

Cruz is no stranger to broadcasting. After he retired from football, he had a stint as a studio analyst for ESPN. He has also done some broadcasting assignments for the New York Giants, most as an in-studio analyst.

Cruz, from Paterson, New Jersey, was one of the Giants' most inspirational stories in recent years. An undrafted free agent out of UMass, not much was thought about the young receiver’s chances of making the roster as a rookie.

Cruz spent most of his first NFL season on IR with an elbow injury. The following year, he had his breakout season, captivating Giants fans’ admiration with electrifying long runs and, in 2011, leading the Giants to their second Super Bowl championship during the Tom Coughlin-Eli Manning era.

Unfortunately, everything came crashing down around Cruz, who tore his patellar tendon in 2014 in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Cruz never did recover from that injury, struggling with a calf issue the following year that was believed to be related to his patellar injury.

He came back briefly in 2016, but when it became evident that he wasn’t the same player he was pre-injury, the Giants made the heartbreaking decision after that season to release their rags-to-riches hometown receiver, whose rise to the NFL endeared him to so many Giants fans.

Cruz did sign with the Chicago Bears in the hopes of leaving the game on his terms, but he didn’t make it. He called it quits before the 2018 season, ending his career having caught 303 balls for 4,549 yards and 25 touchdowns, his touchdowns punctuated with his signature Salsa dance celebration.

In his new broadcasting gig for TNT, Cruz will join Champ Bailey and Takeo Spikes as studio analysts. Adam Lefkoe will host the show.