Latest news with #VictorCruz
USA Today
12 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Victor Cruz offers bold prediction for 2025 New York Giants
Victor Cruz offers bold prediction for 2025 New York Giants Once a Giant, always a Giant. Former New York Giants Pro Bowl wide receiver Victor Cruz' playing career ended some time ago but he's never too far from the team he once energized and led to a Super Bowl championship. Cruz is always down for some Giants talk and did so with reporters in Jersey City on Thursday at an event to promote the FIFA Club World Cup events, which will take place at MetLife Stadium over the next month. Cruz is optimistic about the Giants' chances this season and likes the makeup of the roster heading into training camp. "I think we have a good team. I think for the first time, [head coach Brian Daboll] has a team in a draft that you could feel he wrapped his arms around," Cruz said, per the New York Post. "These are his guys, and we'll see how he develops them and get them ready to play." Cruz believes the Giants will be above .500 this year and likes the idea of first-round pick Jaxson Dart learning behind two established pros in Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. Cruz mentioned that Wilson was a "pro's pro" and that Winston's reputation as a "gunslinger" would aid in the development of Dart. 'I think Jaxson could learn some from both of those things,' Cruz said Cruz was one of the many Giants legends who visited the team's facility this spring to impart his wisdom and experience to the current team.
New York Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Victor Cruz delivers bold prediction for Giants in 2025: ‘We have a good team'
Victor Cruz stood in the middle of Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J., on Wednesday with the Manhattan skyline in the background. On the 84-degree day, the former Giants wide receiver and Super Bowl winner was hard pressed to miss throwing on the pads and helmet for mini camp. 'I'm out here in this heat in the suit, and I don't miss it. Let alone being out there with half pads and shorts,' Cruz said. The Super Bowl champion was on hand for an event celebrating the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup, but naturally, the conversation eventually turned to the Giants with minicamp starting next week. Though Cruz doesn't miss having to sweat in the burning New Jersey sun, he did get a sense of nostalgia after a recent visit to the Giants' facility in East Rutherford. 'I started to get the bug back. I started stretching. I was like, hold on, Vic, what are you doing?' Cruz said. 'But being back there and missing the guys and being in the locker room and just having that energy back a little bit. It's a little nostalgic for me.' Cruz won't be suiting up anytime soon, but the former star wide receiver was somewhat optimistic about the Giants' fortunes going into 2025, predicting that Big Blue would be above .500 this upcoming season. 3 Victor Cruz discussed the Giants on Wednesday. NYPostSports/Instagram 'I think we have a good team. I think for the first time, [head coach Brian Daboll] has a team in a draft that you could feel he wrapped his arms around. These are his guys and we'll see how he develops them and, and get them ready to play.' The Giants took edge rusher Abdul Carter with the No. 3 overall pick and traded back into the first round to select quarterback Jaxson Dart at No. 25. Cruz liked the idea of Dart being able to learn from both veteran quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, describing the former as the 'ultimate pro's pro' and the latter as having a 'gunslinger sort of mentality.' 3 Victor Cruz makes a catch for the Giants in 2011. Paul J. Bereswill for The New Yo 'I think Jaxson could learn some things for both of those things,' Cruz said. Cruz emceed the 2026 World Cup event, with a number of local sports stars and politicians on hand, to mark the impending global soccer tournament, which will feature eight World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium, including the final. 3 Jaxson Dart throws a pass during the Giants' rookie mincamp on May 10, 2025. Robert Sabo for NY Post Liberty State Park will also serve as the official site of the FIFA Fan Festival New York New Jersey. And Cruz expected the festivities to be 'iconic. 'I've obviously played in some big games, some big moments. But this is another level. We're talking about the biggest sporting event in the world coming to the New York-New Jersey region,' he said. 'And this very park will be the place in the country where fans can catch every single one of the 104 matches – right here on these grounds, with views of the Statue of Liberty, and all the vibes that are happening. It's going to be incredible. It's going to be iconic.'
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Victor Cruz didn't mince words about his time with the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are one of the most storied franchises in the NFL, but things have been far from perfect over the years, be it on the field or inside the organization. Former NFL wide receiver Victor Cruz, who spent one summer with the organization, didn't mince words when discussing his short time with the Bears. The long-time New York Giants wide receiver joined the Bears ahead of the 2017 season but was part of final roster cuts, so he never played a regular-season game in Chicago. But he apparently saw more than enough that left a bad taste in his mouth. Advertisement During a recent appearance on the "New Rory & MAL" podcast, Cruz bashed the Bears organization when comparing them to the Giants, which was two completely different worlds to the veteran wide receiver. In 2017, head coach John Fox was in his final season while general manager Ryan Pace was running the show. For Cruz, everything he experienced with Chicago was, in his words, "trash." "Something they tell you in the league often is 'When you leave the Giants, it's not the same everywhere'," Cruz said. "I'm like, I'm going to the Bears, a heralded organization, they've been around for 100 years, they absolutely run a high-level organization there. I got there and I was looking around, I was like this s--t is trash. The food was trash, ownership was trash, coaching staff was trash. The food in the cafeteria was just awful in comparison to the Giants where we got gourmet, we got packaged lunch." Times have definitely changed inside Halas Hall and the trend has swung massively upwards, with general manager Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson leading the charge to turn the organization around. The Bears graded highly in their amenities in the most recent annual NFLPA survey, so things have certainly changed since Cruz's short time with the organization. Advertisement Follow Bears Wire on Twitter and Facebook This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Victor Cruz had some harsh words about his time with the Chicago Bears
USA Today
11-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Victor Cruz didn't mince words about his time with the Chicago Bears
Victor Cruz didn't mince words about his time with the Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are one of the most storied franchises in the NFL, but things have been far from perfect over the years, be it on the field or inside the organization. Former NFL wide receiver Victor Cruz, who spent one summer with the organization, didn't mince words when discussing his short time with the Bears. The long-time New York Giants wide receiver joined the Bears ahead of the 2017 season but was part of final roster cuts, so he never played a regular-season game in Chicago. But he apparently saw more than enough that left a bad taste in his mouth. During a recent appearance on the "New Rory & MAL" podcast, Cruz bashed the Bears organization when comparing them to the Giants, which was two completely different worlds to the veteran wide receiver. In 2017, head coach John Fox was in his final season while general manager Ryan Pace was running the show. For Cruz, everything he experienced with Chicago was, in his words, "trash." "Something they tell you in the league often is 'When you leave the Giants, it's not the same everywhere'," Cruz said. "I'm like, I'm going to the Bears, a heralded organization, they've been around for 100 years, they absolutely run a high-level organization there. I got there and I was looking around, I was like this s--t is trash. The food was trash, ownership was trash, coaching staff was trash. The food in the cafeteria was just awful in comparison to the Giants where we got gourmet, we got packaged lunch." Times have definitely changed inside Halas Hall and the trend has swung massively upwards, with general manager Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson leading the charge to turn the organization around. The Bears graded highly in their amenities in the most recent annual NFLPA survey, so things have certainly changed since Cruz's short time with the organization. Follow Bears Wire on Twitter and Facebook
USA Today
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Victor Cruz compares his time with New York Giants, Chicago Bears
Victor Cruz compares his time with New York Giants, Chicago Bears Once a Giant, always a Giant. That's the motto just about every player who's donned the Blue carries with them. Add former All-Pro wide receiver Victor Cruz to that list. Cruz became a sensation with the Giants as a local walk-on in 2010. His famous salsa touchdown celebration dance was a fan favorite, and he was an integral part of the Giants' Super Bowl XLVI championship team. Cruz suffered a devastating knee injury in 2014 that effectively ended his career. He returned in 2016, but clearly was not the Victor Cruz fans knew and loved. The Giants released Cruz in February of 2017, and he signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears. He was released before the season began and decided to retire after a Giants reunion fell through. He wasn't meant to play anywhere but New Jersey it seems. In a recent interview, Cruz described what life is like going from the Giants to another team in the NFL. "It was the Bears, yeah," Cruz said on the New Rory & MAL podcast. "I was there for a little cup of coffee. It's funny because once I transitioned, you know, the stigma, or not the stigma, but something they tell you in the league often is like, 'Oh, it ain't, you know, when you leave the Giants, it ain't the same everywhere.' "And I'm like, well, I'm going to the Bears, a heralded organization, been around for a hundred years. Like, they absolutely run a high-level organization there. And I got there and I was looking around, I was like, this [expletive] is trash. Food was trash, ownership was trash, coaching staff was trash… It was just awful. In comparison to the Giants, where it was like gourmet, we got packaged lunch." Harsh words. To their credit, the Bears have upgraded their game since then. They realized the NFL is a high-stakes business and, if they were to attract free agents, they needed to modernize. The Giants have always been a class outfit. Sure, they've dysfunctional in many areas but they always treated their players with dignity and respect. You can thank Wellington Mara for that. He saw the human side of the players and the business. Almost to a fault, one might say. But ask any Giants player who went on to play elsewhere, they'll all say the same thing about how well they were treated by Big Blue.
