There comes a time when a player turns an unseen corner, and that time has come for Victor Cruz. He begins his fifth season with the Giants sporting a brand new contract (six years, $45.9 million) and carrying the unofficial but very real designation as the top receiver on the team now that Hakeem Nicks plays for the Colts.
Cruz is wealthy and secure, and here comes another addition to his resume: He is viewed by coach Tom Coughlin as a team leader.
The Giants coach recently called in select players to meet with him as a group to discuss team affairs and one of them — for the first time — was Cruz. With the departures of Justin Tuck to the Raiders and Chris Snee and David Diehl to retirement, respected voices in the locker room have been silenced, and new blood is needed for Coughlin to lean on to make sure his message is getting through.
Cruz told The Post’s Steve Serby he was invited into the meeting with Coughlin, along with Eli Manning (the offensive team captain), Antrel Rolle (the defensive captain), Mathias Kiwanuka, Zak DeOssie (the special teams captain), Jon Beason and Will Beatty. Manning, Rolle, Kiwanuka and DeOssie all have been part of a Leadership Council assembled by Coughlin. Cruz, Beason and Beatty are newcomers.
“So far we just talked about scheduling and things like that, so I think it’s just for us to give a heads-up to the rest of the team on what’s coming,’’ Cruz said, “and what to expect, and the things that the coaching staff may be looking to implement moving on, so that we have a good understanding of it so we can relay it to our teammates properly so they’re not confused.”
A few more players are expected to be added into the 2014 Leadership Council, a concept Coughlin first adopted in 2007 as a way to better connect with his players. It was a resounding success and helped Coughlin get in better touch with the concerns and desires of those inhabiting the locker room.
Adding Beason was an easy move for Coughlin, even though Beason arrived during the 2013 and still is fairly new on the scene. Beason became a strong voice almost immediately and, along with Rolle, is unquestionably in the center of things on defense as the middle linebacker and a respected presence.
Beatty, for several years, was the younger offensive lineman in a room filled with veterans and suddenly not only is the Giants’ longest-tenured member of the offensive line, but also the only one remaining from past Super Bowl glory.
Cruz, 27, is a true rags-to-riches story from Paterson, N.J., as he went undrafted out of UMass, made the Giants’ roster in 2010 as a complete surprise and quickly emerged as a fixture on offense and, now, as a team leader.