Former New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz is getting back in the game — just as he officially retires from the NFL.
The Super Bowl Champion announced both the end of his old career and the start of a new one as an NFL analyst at ESPN, in a video on “Uninterrupted” Tuesday.
The seven-year NFL vet and 2012 Pro Bowl selection will appear on “NFL Live,” “Get Up!,” “SportsCenter,” ESPN Radio and other ESPN platforms year-round. Cruz will make his ESPN debut Wednesday during the 9 a.m. ET hour on both “Get Up!” and “SportsCenter.”
“As I officially close one chapter of my life and begin another, I could not be more thrilled to join another championship team at ESPN,” said Cruz in a statement. “I’m excited to get started and share my insight and analysis with the viewers and fans of the NFL.”
In 2010, Cruz joined the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent from UMass. The next year, he scored his first 1,000-year season and grabbed a touchdown pass to help lead the Giants to victory against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. During his seven-year run with the Giants, Cruz totaled 303 catches for 4,549 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns, including an NFL record-tying 99-yard reception in December 2011.
Cruz has presented at The ESPYS, attended the Winter X Games, and he was part of a 2014 “This Is SportsCenter” spot. He appeared as a guest analyst on NFL Live in January.
Adds Seth Markman, ESPN’s senior coordinating producer, NFL studio shows: “Victor is passionate about the NFL, and we’ve long been impressed with his ability to connect and engage with fans. He has a deep knowledge of the game and experience playing at the highest levels, so we expect him to be an impactful voice.”
Cruz currently hosts “The Victor Cruz Show” with Paul Rivera on Uninterrupted, a “barbershop talk” style conversation about sports, music and fashion. Cruz was one of the first athletes to develop his own content for LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s all-digital sports programming network.
Watch Cruz’s announcement video above.