The New York Giants need Victor Cruz to provide some semblance of himself in the slot this season — if they are going to come anywhere close to overtaking the Eagles and Cowboys in the NFC East.
Cruz is continuing to make progress in his recovery from the serious knee injury that ended his 2014 season — but is hell-bent on being in uniform for the Sunday night season opener vs the Cowboys.
“Absolutely,” Cruz said at a news conference Thursday. “There is not a doubt in my mind that I’ll be out there playing on that field. It’s just a matter of getting myself back to 100 percent, but as of now, definitely, there is zero doubt in my mind that I’ll be playing in that first game and that I’ll be back to the player I was.”
Cruz tore his patellar tendon Week 6 in Philadelphia and missed the rest of the season following surgery. Giants GM Jerry Reese believes Cruz is on schedule as well.
“He’s scheduled to be back by the opener for us,” Giants GM Jerry Reese said Thursday, before reiterating his statement from the scouting combine that the Giants can’t be certain about getting Cruz back on the field until he actually is.