Victor Cruz: I won't start Giants camp on PUP list

Giants wideout Victor Cruz doesn't see himself easing into training camp despite his recovery from a grueling patellar tendon tear.

"The plan is to be ready for training camp and I feel good," Cruz told SiriusXM NFL Radio. "I don't think PUP is an option for me."

PUP, or the Physically Unable to Perform list, would give the Giants some wiggle room on the roster if Cruz wasn't truly healthy enough to start training camp. They could technically place him there and add another wideout to the roster while monitoring the non-football recovery work he is doing on the sidelines. There is also a regular-season version of PUP that would stash him for the first six games of the regular season.

But Cruz feels good enough to assume that PUP won't be happening, which means that his rehab is going better than expected. Many athletes who suffer a patellar tendon tear say it takes more than one season to regain the top-edge speed they once had. Some say it never comes back.

Cruz's recovery is instrumental to the Giants' success over the coming months. From the outside looking in, the cautious approach seems to be the best one. Without Cruz and Beckham terrorizing defenses together, there's not much the Giants' offense has going for it.

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