Cruz is retiring from football to join ESPN as an NFL analyst, ESPN.com reports.
Cruz said this past spring that he hoped to continue his playing career, but it was never a likely proposition after he failed to make the Bears' 53-man roster last year. Though serviceable for the Giants in 2016, he's never come close to the pre-injury form he displayed from 2011 to 2013 -- a stretch in which he averaged 79 receiving yards per game. Cruz went undrafted out of UMass in 2010, then burst onto the scene with 1,536 receiving yards in 2011 while helping the Giants win a Super Bowl. He retires at the age of 31, with each of his 303 career receptions coming in a Giants uniform.
Cruz hopes to continue his NFL career but plans to retire if he doesn't sign with a team before the start of the 2018 season, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.
Cruz failed to make the Bears' 53-man roster last season and didn't play in 2017. He'll turn 32 in November and is now five years removed from his last season (2013) with more than 39 catches and one touchdown. Cruz might find a team willing to let him compete for a roster spot, but retirement seems to be the most likely outcome. He averaged 80.3 catches for 1,209 yards and 7.7 touchdowns from 2011 to 2013 with the Giants before a series of knee and leg injuries derailed his career.
Upholding the perceived expectation, Cruz was cut loose by the Bears, despite an affirmation from the wide receiver that he was handed a "clean bill of health" after an MRI, per Josina Anderson of ESPN. Because he didn't find a home until May 25 and the Bears have a critical need for depth at wide receiver, Cruz may not get another chance in the league as he enters what would have been his age-31 season.
