Giants Victor Cruz to have season ending surgery

Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz (80) is likely to have his contract addressed.

(John Munson | NJ Advance Media)

Open the Giants books and there is Eli Manning's contract and salary cap number right at the top. The Pro Bowl quarterback is set to make $18 million this year and count $24.2 million against the salary cap. It's a cap number the Giants can easily absorb, because he's the Super Bowl-winning quarterback and there are few others on the roster set to make a dent in the salary cap.



But right behind Manning on the Giants payroll right now is wide receiver Victor Cruz. He's set to make $8 million in 2016 and count $9.9 million against the salary cap.



Cruz, 29, hasn't played a down in 499 days, and nobody can be 100 percent positive he ever will after tearing the patellar tendon in his knee in 2014 and missing all of last season with a calf injury. Cruz still wasn't running as of the beginning of the month.

It's inevitable the former Pro Bowl receiver's contract will be reworked or shredded. This is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, and Cruz hasn't done anything lately, unless you're dating back to the start of the '14 season. He's currently set to be paid as a Pro Bowl receiver, even though it's unlikely he'll ever be that same Pro Bowl receiver again.



Right behind Cruz (in terms of cap hits for wide receivers) are the Jets' Brandon Marshall, Redskins' DeSean Jackson, Packers' Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson and the Jets' Eric Decker. The Giants are being awfully optimistic if they believe Cruz can return following an almost two-year layoff and play at anywhere near the level he's getting paid.



In the NFL, with teams able to get out of most contracts, you're paid what you're worth. For Cruz that is way less than $8 million for '16. If he were a free agent on the market this offseason coming off consecutive season-ending injuries, he'd likely be viewed as a one-year flier. His annual salary would be significantly less than $8 million.

That's why when five league sources were polled about what Cruz was likely to get in a renegotiated contract with the Giants this offseason, these were the results:



(Note: The panel consists of a front office executive, salary cap experts and agents.)



Source #1 - 1 year, $3M with incentives

Source # 2 - Keep current $8M contract

Source #3 - Nothing, he'll never play again

Source #4 - 1 year, $4M with incentives

Source #5 - 1 year, $4.5M with incentives



Average: 1 year, $4M



Source #2 kept Cruz on his current contract, stating that the Giants didn't need the money and could always cut him later this summer if necessary. Source #3 didn't think Cruz would ever play again. The other three thought Cruz's deal '16 salary should be slashed in half, while being provided the opportunity to earn some of it back with incentives (similar to what Jason Pierre-Paul had last year).



Something will be done, with the likelihood that Cruz's situation will be addressed this week. His agent, Tom Condon, and the Giants will be in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine. They'll talk business, and it appears Cruz is open to remaining with his hometown team even if it means playing for less money.



It's better than the alternatives, which include not playing at all.



"I just want to play. Whatever it takes, whether it's with the Giants or anyone else," Cruz said during Super Bowl week in San Francisco. "Obviously the Giants are home, they're family. But I just want to play football, man."

It's just likely to happen at a reduced price. Probably in the $4 million range if he makes it back onto the field.

Jordan Raanan may be reached at jraanan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JordanRaanan. Find NJ.com Giants on Facebook.