New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz said that he wants to be back on the field within the next two weeks, according to Bart Hubbuch and Kyle Schnitzer of the nypost.com.
"If it were up to me, I would love to be back at some point within the next two weeks, whether it be Thursday or the following game," said Cruz, via nypost.com. "That's not the training staff or the doctors (saying) things like that, so we'll see."
Cruz is being held out for a calf injury, and he missed most of last season with a torn pettelar tendon.The Giants could use their top slot receiver back and soon. Quarterback Eli Manning only threw for 190 yards against the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday. The Giants had no receiving touchdowns, and their leading receiver was running back Shane Vereen with 46 yards.
When Cruz comes back, it will likely open up the pass offense for the G-men. Odell Beckham Jr. is under heavy coverage every game, and without another legitimate threat on the field, teams feel they can leave heavy coverage on him. Players like Larry Donnell, Reuben Randle and Preston Parker likely need to step up in the absence of Cruz this Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
If Cruz can't make it back against the Washington Redskins on Thursday night, they will likely hope for his return against the Buffalo Bills. The Giants lost their first game of the season, and don't want to find themselves in a hole when their top-tier receiver returns.
Cruz's last full season was 2012, and he had 1,092 receiving yards as well as 10 touchdowns. The Giants would likely be happy if they could get half of that production from Cruz this season once returning. The huge benefit with putting Cruz on the field outside of his talent is that he opens up the field for other players. Cruz says he wants to be back within the next two weeks, and the Giants likely want the same thing.
