EAST RUTHERFORD Oshane Ximines Jersey Draft , N.J. (AP) — Former New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz has retired.In making the announcement Tuesday, the 31-year-old Cruz said he plans to join ESPN as an NFL analyst. Cruz will contribute to variety of shows and make his ESPN debut Wednesday.Cruz was a seven-year NFL veteran and a 2012 Pro Bowl selection. He joined the Giants in 2010 as an undrafted free agent out of Massachusetts. He had his first 1,000-yard season and caught a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl victory over the Patriots in February 2012.Cruz had 303 catches for 4,549 yards and 25 touchdowns, including an NFL record-tying 99-yard reception in December 2011. He was signed by the Chicago Bears in 2017 but cut before the season.Giants quarterback Eli Manning said Cruz had a terrific career.Cruz burst onto the scene when he caught three touchdowns in a preseason game against the New York Jets in 2010. It made for a great story because he grew up in nearby Paterson, New Jersey, which was within 30 minutes driving distance, depending on the traffic. He made the roster but sat out with injury.He became a star the following season.“He had a great feel for the offense, his routes, and he was tough to cover Oshane Ximines NFL Jersey ,” Manning said Tuesday after the Giants practiced for Friday’s annual preseason game against the Jets. “He would run down the field, break it in, and we gave him a lot of options. He mastered some of those concepts, and it gave him a great opportunity to get open and make big plays for us.”Manning said he and Cruz talked in the Giants’ locker room two weeks ago, and he wished him well “going to the dark side.”Manning laughed when asked if he wanted to prerecord his response to Cruz’s first criticism of his play.“He’ll be all right, I hope,” Manning said. The Giant surprisingly didn’t keep safety Landon Collins after the 2018 season. Even more surprisingly, they traded receiver Odell Beckham Jr., only months after signing him to a long-term deal.“Was I shocked with Odell?” Collins told NJ.com. “No, honestly Oshane Ximines NFL Draft , not. They felt like he was a problem the whole time. Ever since Odell stepped into the league with them, they felt like he was a problem, I felt like from the outside.”In this case, the “they” is the front office. The players felt differently.“We loved him,” Collins said of his teammates. “Odell is my brother. He is not that kind of guy, or what people think he is about or what the organization did. I don’t know why.”Collins’ perception makes the decision to sign Beckham and then to trade him even more confusing. They could have traded him before signing him to a long-term deal. They also could have left him finish his rookie contract, applied the franchise tag, and traded him from under the tag, like the Chiefs did with Dee Ford and the Seahawks did with Frank Clark.Of all the bizarre decisions the franchise has made in the past few years, the decision to pay more than $20 million to a player about whom the front office was ambivalent at best is by far the most confusing. Especially if they could have gotten compensation close to what they received from the Browns (first-round pick Oshane Ximines Buffalo Bills Jersey , third-round pick, and safety Jabrill Peppers) without having to give Beckham so much money.Meanwhile, why did the Giants have a problem with Beckham in the first place? He never created any issues away from the field, and he always produced at a high level. He ultimately wasn’t happy in New York, possibly because he sensed the organization’s hesitation toward him.All in all, it was a strange chapter for the Giants. If Beckham thrives in Cleveland or elsewhere, it will make New York’s failure to make things work with Beckham even more strange.