Victor Cruz made his return from a gruesome knee injury that he suffered last season and has been practicing for much of the preseason. Cruz has said all along that he expects to be on the field for the New York Giants when they play week one against the Dallas Cowboys but he suffered a setback when he tweaked his calf. Cruz is reportedly unlikely to practice this week or play in the final preseason game, according to James Kratch of NJ.com, and his week one status is now in doubt.
Cruz continues to exude confidence in his ability to play in week one as he calls the injury minor and says the Giants are just being cautious with him. The good news is this injury has nothing to do with the knee he injured a year ago. The bad news is that Cruz has not seen any game action and that could mean a lot of rust when he first gets on the field for a game.
While Cruz is not going to practice this week he expects to be back out on the practice field in the week of preparation leading up to the game against the Cowboys, something head coach Tom Coughlin says is necessary.
"You need to practice, you really do, you're not going to be efficient as you can. I'll just say that wouldn't be the preferred way," said Coughlin when asked if Cruz would be able to play against Dallas without practicing.
Cruz tore his patellar tendon in a week six game against the Philadelphia Eagles last season which is the injury he is recovering from. Now 28 years old, Cruz is expected to move right back into his position as the Giants slot receiver where he has had so much success in his career. Cruz is expected to be part of a Giants receiving corps that has a chance to be special with him, Odell Beckham Jr., and Ruben Randle but in order for that to happen Cruz needs to get on the field.
If Cruz was unable to go in week one against the Cowboys Preston Parker would likely be the beneficiary and take his snaps as the slot receiver. Last season Parker got most of the snaps as the slot receiver after Cruz went down and he filled in adequately catching 36 passes for 418 yards and two touchdowns. Parker is a decent wide receiver but he is not in the same stratosphere as Cruz so not having him would hurt the Giants. It is unknown if Cruz will have the same explosiveness as he did before the injury but the Giants certainly want to find out in game action sooner rather than later.
