2016-07-22



Victor Cruz hasn’t played a meaningful NFL game in almost two full seasons.  His once promising future now has some serious doubts.

Cruz has always had talent.  That goes without question.  He had talent at Paterson Catholic High School in Paterson, N.J.  He had talent at Bridgton Academy in North Bridgton, Maine.  He had talent at the University of Massachusetts.

The problem he faced at UMass was a lack of attention to the academic side of being a college athlete.  Cruz was academically dismissed twice.  Eventually, he hit the books and went on to earn a degree in African American Studies.

On the gridiron, he had 131 catches for the Minutemen, ranked fourth in school history despite not starting until his junior year.  In spite of his credentials as a two-time All Colonial Athletic Association wide receiver, Cruz went undrafted in 2010.  He signed with the Giants as a free agent the day after the draft.

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In the beginning, Cruz impressed coaches enough to earn a spot on the team, but a hamstring injury limited him to three games his rookie season.   During his breakout year of 2011, he ranked third in the NFL with 1,569 receiving yards.  The highlights of his season was a 99-yard touchdown reception against the New York Jets.

Cruz was on well on his way to superstardom when he torn his patellar tendon of his right knee in a 27-0 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 6 of the 2014 season.  At that time, he had 264 receptions for 3,963 yards and 24 touchdowns in his career.

While attempting to rehab from the torn patellar tendon, Cruz would injure his calf.  He would miss the rest of the 2014 season and all of 2015.

The Giants will begin training camp on July 29.  The positive is that Cruz has resembled his 2013 self in offseason workouts.  The negative is that Cruz hasn’t played in a game of any kind since Oct. 12, 2014 and it is unknown if he can ever regain the form he had before his injuries.

Cruz posted a video of himself working out on Instagram.  The video features Cruz getting off the line, making cuts, and getting in the air.  Doing this in July is one thing.  The real question is will he be able to perform when the Giants open against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 11.

Ok it stays. This journey has taken me through so much. Just happy to flourish again. Still a long way to go. #StriveForGreatness #RWTW

A video posted by Victor Cruz (@teamvic) on
Jul 18, 2016 at 6:55am PDT

According to the American Journal of Sports Medicine, only half of NFL players who suffer the type of injury that Cruz suffers come back from it.

The good news is that players such as Nate Allen, Morris Claiborne, and Patrick Peterson did return with some semblance of their form before injury.  The bad news is that LeCharles Bentley, Greg Childs, Brandon Gibson, Jim Leonhard, Jerod Mayo, Cadillac Williams, and Ryan Williams weren’t as fortunate.

If Cruz can gain some semblance of his 2011 or 2012 self, it will definitely help a Giants offense that averaged more than 26 points a game in 2015 without him.  Unfortunately, it’s literally a 50/50 proposition that Cruz will be like his old self or that we have already seen the best of him.

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