Another week will go by without Victor Cruz taking the field. On Thursday, the Giants wide receiver who hasn’t played since Week 6 of last season was ruled out for the team’s Week 4 game against the Bills.
The Giants are still waiting for Victor Cruz to get healthy
The former Pro Bowler will miss his 14th straight game Sunday, dating back to last season.
Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
"I don't have any more information for you," Giants head coach Tom Coughlin told the media. "Yeah, he went for an MRI. Yes, it is the same calf. That's all I have. He's not going to practice today. He's not going to be in the game this weekend."
Two years ago Cruz was viewed by all as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. He had emerged out of nowhere -- more precisely, the University of Massachusetts, not exactly a hotbed of NFL talent -- and despite going undrafted in 2010, Cruz quickly became an unguardable force out of the slot.
It took a year, but after spending a season on injured reserve, Cruz broke out for 1,536 yards on 82 catches -- that's 18.7 yards per catch. He was a star, an undersized kid from the rough streets of Patterson, N.J., who loved the spotlight that came with representing New York and became the face of the team that upset the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. He was Odell Beckham Jr. before Odell Beckham Jr. was. After he followed up that breakout campaign with another stellar season (86 catches, 1,092 yards), Cruz signed a five-year, $43 million contract extension.
Then in 2013, the wheels began to come off -- almost literally.
A History of Injuries
Cruz hurt his heel in training camp but still managed to make it through 14 games and catch 73 balls for 998 yards before a knee injury kept him out of the Giants' final two contests of the 2013 season. Then last year, he suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon in Week 6.
Now we learn that the calf injury, which Cruz suffered during camp and has kept him out of all three Giants games this season and off the practice field since Aug. 17, isn’t healing the way it was supposed to. Cruz attempted to practice on Wednesday but had to be pulled off the field quickly.
"Victor came out and tried to do individuals," Coughlin said afterward, via Big Blue View. "He felt the calf again and that's all he did." Giants wide receiver Rueben Randle said that he could see a "little limp in [Cruz] a little bit once he tried to turn up and run."
Now, the question that has to be asked is: Will Cruz be able to come back at any point this year, and if he does, will he be able to perform at the same high level?
What will Cruz look like if he does return?
Cruz is now a 28-year-old, undersized wide receiver who hasn’t played in an NFL game since Oct. 12, 2014. That’s not a description that lends itself to much optimism. He’s clearly no longer the most famous of the Giants wide receivers -- that baton has been handed to ODB -- but that doesn’t mean the Giants don’t desperately miss him.
Through three games this season, Giants receivers have struggled doing the very thing they’re paid to do. The group has dropped a total of eight passes this season, and 7.6 percent of passes thrown to them, per SportingCharts.com. Only four teams have dropped more passes and only three groups of wide receivers have dropped passes more frequently.
That the Giants this season have the ninth-highest rated passing offense according to Football Outsiders is a testament to Eli Manning’s steady hand, and also just how otherworldly Beckham is -- Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the league’s most productive wide receiver through three games.
This is why the Giants need Cruz back, and soon. They're just 1-2, but both losses have been the result of foolish fourth quarter actions, not the team being outplayed. The Giants have actually outscored their opponents by six points so far this season. But more importantly for them is how wide open the NFC East is. The Cowboys are without their starting QB and best playmaker. The Eagles look like a group of high schoolers trying to run Chip Kelly's offense. The team in Washington is still the team in Washington, which means they have no chance.
The Giants, on the other hand, still have their franchise QB and best wide receiver healthy. What’s become clear, though, is that ODB might not be enough. Force feeding one player the ball certainly isn’t a recipe for success. Cruz’s return could transform the Giants into an explosive offense, one that can beat opponents in many different ways.
The problem is, no one can guess when that point will come this year, and what Cruz will look like if it does.
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