Fresh off season-ending knee surgery, Victor Cruz blamed part of Eli Manning’s awful year on “a little bit of a disconnect” between the Giants quarterback and his receivers.
Cruz said he expects his knee to be recovered by the start of on-field workouts in the spring, and the star receiver said rebuilding that chemistry with Manning will be at the top of Cruz’s offseason priorities.
“This year I’ll make it a point to get with Eli a little bit more … and get the receiving corps together as much as we can, to kind of build that more,” Cruz told reporters while the 6-9 Giants were concluding their final practice of the season before Sunday’s home matchup with the Redskins.
“That’s one thing we lacked … that continuity from a receiver standpoint with our quarterback. And I want to build that earlier this year. We’ve got to set some time apart and get the receivers down with Eli whenever he’s ready and kind of just schedule it right so we can just build, not only on the field, but off the field.”
“We want to get to know each other a little bit more. I feel like there was a little bit of a disconnect there that we want to get back into this football team.”
Cruz suffered a mild concussion and a bruised medial collateral ligament in his knee on the same play in a 23-0 home loss to the Seahawks on Dec. 15, then was lost for the final two games when doctors discovered some other issues in the knee that Cruz described as minor but still requiring surgery.
Cruz said Friday he has been told his rehabilitation will take between six weeks and two months, leaving him more than enough to be ready for organized team activities (OTAs) and the Giants’ veteran minicamp.
Cruz ended up with 73 catches for 998 yards, leaving him just two yards short of his third consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season.
“When I was on the flight going to get my surgery, a fan came up to me and said, ‘Don’t worry about those two yards, you still got a thousand in my book,’ ’’ Cruz said. “That sealed the deal for me. I knew I didn’t need them.”
Befitting their 6-9 record, the Giants practically invisible when the Pro Bowl rosters were announced Friday night. Antrel Rolle is the only Giant with a chance to end up going to Hawaii after being announced as a second alternate at strong safety after leading the Giants in both interceptions (six) and tackles (73) going into Sunday’s season finale. It would be Rolle’s third Pro Bowl trip if he ends up making the squad.
Justin Tuck also was being pushed for the Pro Bowl by the Giants after recording nine sacks in the first 15 games, but the defensive end did not receive even alternate consideration.
The Pro Bowl format is changing this season. There will be a draft of all selected players on Jan. 22 to make up two teams of Pro Bowlers, with teams no longer separated into NFC and AFC squads.
As expected, Jason Pierre-Paul was declared out by the Giants for Sunday’s finale so he could continue to rest his troublesome shoulder.
Pierre-Paul missed the final five games and finished with just two sacks in 11 appearances for the year. That continued a worrisome trend for the one-time star pass rusher, who had 16 sacks in 2011 but managed just six last season.
Guard Brandon Mosley (hand) and tight end Adrien Robinson (knee) also were declared out.
Wide receiver Rueben Randle, meamwhile, did not practice for the second day in a row because of knee swelling and was listed as questionable to play on the official injury report.
The Redskins are relatively healthy, but the Giants’ beleaguered offensive line could catch a break. Washington pass-rush ace Brian Orakpo is questionable with a groin injury but told reporters Friday that he doubted he would be able to play.