Victor Cruz’s arduous and circuitous journey from high school football star in Paterson, N.J., to academic casualty at the University of Massachusetts, where he ultimately found redemption, to NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver and A-list celebrity is well documented. But accolades and privilege aren’t prevalent aims for the Giants’ wide receiver at the moment.
Attaining stable health, suiting up for his team’s regular season opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 11, being a productive pass catcher and sustaining the ability to play a full season are Cruz’s primary objectives. That is why he has ground through hundreds of hours of physical rehab and grueling training sessions since incurring a torn patella tendon in week 6 of the 2014 season that sidelined him for nine months, followed by a left calf injury that required surgery last November.
Cruz has not played a single snap for the Giants in the 22 months since rupturing the patella tendon in his right knee. And as he approaches 30—Cruz will reach that age Nov. 11—his football mortality is clearly staring him in the eyes. The average NFL career span has declined substantially since 2008, dipping by an average of roughly two and a half years through 2014 according to Pro-Football-Reference.com and a Wall Street Journal report.
Collectively, players have a shelf life of 2.66 years, with wide receivers lasting the shortest amount of time at two years and 2.5 months. It is a league in which the parts, with the exception of the quarterback position, left tackle and a pass rush specialist, are fluid and effectively replaceable. From 2010 to 2014, Cruz played 55 regular season games and four playoff games for the Giants, including catching a touchdown in their 21-17 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI in February 2012.
But as he battles another injury, this time a tight groin sustained this week in training camp that will delay his much-anticipated return to game action versus the Miami Dolphins in the Giants’ preseason opener this Friday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, young bucks such as the highly touted 23-year-old wide receiver, Sterling Shepard, the Giants’ second-round pick (40th overall) from Oklahoma in April’s NFL Draft, are eagerly striving to fill the void.
“I’m not frustrated,” Cruz said, addressing his latest obstacle. “I just have to listen to my body and make sure I’m going about this the right way. I don’t want to ignore something and then have another major setback.”
“It’s a combination of what he needs from a coaching perspective, the training room perspective, the strength and conditioning perspective,” Giants Head Coach Ben McAdoo said in being cautious with Cruz. “It’s not just one person making that decision. We take the numbers; we take everything into consideration.”
Depending on his progress, there will be difficult considerations for both the Giants and Cruz in the weeks to come.
