The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Giants’ Cruz says return was ‘unreal’
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. >> Victor Cruz really didn’t care about his statistics after the Giants played the Jets in their annual preseason game.
The line for the 29-yearold wide receiver read: 32 plays, targeted on two passes, with one reception for 4 yards.
It was unproductive, yet Cruz could not help but smile after the Giants’ 2120 win on Saturday night.
Cruz had played in a game for the first time since the 2014 season, and that’s all that mattered to the wideout who was one of the NFL’s most feared receivers from 2011-13. The knee injury that ended the ‘14 season and a calf problem that sidelined him last year were things of the past.
Even the crowd at MetLife Stadium was into his return, chanting “Cruzzzz.”
“It was unreal,” Cruz said. “It kind of gave me goosebumps.”
Even though he felt rusty, Cruz was excited.
“It felt good to put that jersey on again and go out there with my teammates, from the warmup, the pregame, and then during the game to be in the position to make a play and be out there running routes against an opponent, it felt good,” Cruz said.
Cruz’s only catch came on a quick pass to the right from Eli Manning on the first play from scrimmage in the second half.
“That ball felt like it was forever in the air before it got to my hands, but it was good to kind of catch that ball and get a little contact, get a little hit out of bounds, and hopefully I can build on that,” Cruz said. “But it was definitely good to get one in.”