Tom not going to rush Cruz

One season after it all went wrong for Victor Cruz, everything is going well for the Giants star, both on and off the field. On the field, the receiver, who is recovering from the torn left patellar knee tendon that sabotaged his 2014, is expected to be ready at the start of training camp, according to Tom Coughlin. While the coach didn’t rule out Cruz starting camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list, he said that is “not the intent.”

“It is my understanding that he will be ready to participate,” Coughlin said.

He added that Cruz may be ready for action, but the team has no plans to push him too early.

“How limited, I can’t tell you,” Coughlin said. “We will see. We aren’t going to throw him right out there, I can tell you that.”

Off the field, Cruz has seen his television profile grow. He makes several appearances in HBO’s much-anticipated football series “Ballers,” which stars Dwayne Johnson and debuts Sunday night.

“It’s been fun,” Cruz said. “It’s different for me obviously because it’s my first time working on that scale of television. It was fun. Working with the Rock (Johnson) makes it easy as well. I had a blast.”

Cruz said he will appear in three episodes, and he wouldn’t mind if this is the start of a second career as an actor.

ELI LETS FLY

Eli Manning is coming off a career season in which he threw 30 TD passes, but there’s a chance he could be even better in 2015. Somehow, at age 34, the franchise quarterback has showcased a more powerful arm in minicamp.

“It is lively, very lively,” Coughlin said of Manning’s arm. “He has worked very hard on that. Obviously, you see it here, but he has worked hard and has a very nice routine going. He is very comfortable and very confident of his routine.”

Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo said he spoke with Manning before the offseason about things to improve but he credited the veteran with making the adjustments.

“We had some collaboration before he left, but the credit goes to Eli,” McAdoo said. “Eli’s put a lot of time and effort into his footwork and his strength there. I like the look in his eye right now.”

Manning had special reason to showcase all of that on Thursday; his father, Archie Manning, was in attendance at the workout.

FLOWERS IMPRESSES

Ereck Flowers, the ninth pick in this year’s draft, has impressed the Giants enough throughout the offseason program to largely secure the left tackle job.

While McAdoo stressed that “nothing is ever set in stone,” the coordinator seemed pleased with Flowers, who has played almost exclusively at left tackle ever since veteran Will Beatty was lost to a pectoral injury. Flowers typically saw extra reps, working with both the first team and second team during minicamp drills.

“We like him as the future left tackle of the New York Giants,” McAdoo said. “I am very comfortable with him being out there right now.”

Flowers also signed his contract on Thursday. Safety Landon Collins, the Giants’ secondround pick, is their only unsigned rookie.