EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz has not been able to get through a full practice in a little over a week thanks to a groin strain, but head coach Ben McAdoo is looking at the glass as being half full with it comes to the 29-year-old receiver.
“He had a bounce-back day (Wednesday),” McAdoo said. “He’s out there running on the side and looked pretty good. Of course, you’d like to get him in team reps and individual, but we’ll progress that way.”
Cruz was also encouraged by the work he was able to put in.
“Just being able to move a little bit more, do more things, get some sprints in, do some lateral movement a little bit and just go out there and ramp up the workload a little bit more than what we have been doing, so I am excited that everything has been positive so far and that my body is responding the right way.”
He’s also excited about building off that progress.
“We are going to be picking up the intensity as these days progress, just to pick it up a little bit and see where I am physically and do some change of direction stuff towards the end of this week and see where it goes, but I feel great. My body feels great after all of that movement and hopefully we can pick it up and progress moving forward.”
At this point, the Giants will take any inkling of progress Cruz can show. The receiver’s return to the field since suffering a season-ending torn patellar tendon in his knee in October 2014 has certainly not been easy–he was shelved last year by a calf injury, and is trying to avoid a third trip to IR due to his groin issue.
Cruz and McAdoo met on Sunday for a heart-to-heart conversation. While neither revealed specifics, Cruz said he felt it was a necessary one.
“It was one that I feel like I needed to have with him just to let him know where I was mentally,” he said. “I wanted to personally talk to him about how I felt and the things that I have felt in my mind and in my heart about the past two years and what is happening now and things like that.”
The soul baring seemed to help mend Cruz’s spirits, even if his body hasn’t yet caught up.
“I feel good. Mentally, I am in a good space. I just want to continue to listen to the training staff, continue to listen to my body and go about things the right way.”
As for what lies ahead, it is unlikely that Cruz will play this weekend when the Giants travel to Buffalo. The Giants would like to be able to see Cruz get into a game or two, but the receiver said that at this point, he’ll take whatever he can get.
“I just want to play. I am not eyeing any snaps or whatever that number is. I am not trying to eye any specific number. I just want to go out there and play and go out there and prove that I can play, that I can still play at a high level, that I can still play this game and go from there.”
“He has to make it through the week of practice and be cleared by the medical staff,” McAdoo said of what it would take for Cruz to get back on the field.
The receiver, who suggested skeptics who have his career dead and buried “tune in” for the next chapter, credited the Giants and his family for helping him to keep his spirits up.
“I have a good support system here at the Giants organization and at home with my family that keeps me upbeat and keeps me positive and makes sure that I am not hanging my head low and understanding that there is going to be bumps in the road.
“This is just another test that God is putting me through to make sure that I make it through and cherish the other side, so I am treating it as such and making sure that I am ready when my number is called.”
Although McAdoo would ideally like to see Cruz and the other injured players make it through an entire week of practice, he continues to cling to hope that Cruz, who has yet to practice this week, will be able to take part in the team’s 55-minute “speed practice” planned before the team departs for Buffalo.
“If guys can go out there and participate in some speed work, then they have a chance to play.”