Victor Cruz isn’t saving the hopeless 2017 New York Giants

The New York Giants adding wide receiver Victor Cruz would do little to save a season that is essentially over five weeks into the campaign.

Sign Victor Cruz. Don’t sign Victor Cruz. Either way, it really doesn’t matter. The 2017 New York Giants were up against it after losing the first four games of the campaign, and any existing hopes the club could complete a historic run toward a playoff berth disappeared once wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. suffered an ankle fracture during a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Even if the Giants would’ve rallied versus the Chargers on Sunday (they didn’t), it wouldn’t have mattered. What’s done is done, and what’s done is New York’s season.

Even before the dust settled on the latest Big Blue disaster, some observers and fans speculated the Giants could orchestrate Cruz’s return to the only real pro football home he’s known. The 30-year old and the Giants parted ways earlier this year via a cap-casualty transaction any reasonable and knowledgable person should’ve seen coming months ahead of time, and neither he nor his former employer seemed all that interested in working out a new deal.

In his physical prime, Cruz evolved into a home-run playmaker capable of taking the ball to the house in numerous scenarios. Quarterback Eli Manning helped the undrafted talent become an integral part of an championship-caliber offense, and Cruz generated multiple noteworthy and memorable highlights while with the Giants. Perhaps the best single moment of his career occurred when he caught a touchdown pass against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.

The sports fates frowned upon Cruz in October 2014 when he was downed by a horrific knee injury during a contest versus the Philadelphia Eagles. Cruz’s season ended on that night, and he was never again the same player, despite putting in countless hours working to recover and rejoin the Giants. He missed the entire 2015 season, and he caught only 39 of 72 targets during his final year with New York.

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Cruz went months without securing a gig before he caught on with the Chicago Bears in the summer. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear the player of old was no more. If diminished performances weren’t bad enough, Cruz was also slowed down by injury setbacks before Chicago moved on from the experiment. Cruz remains unsigned, and he likely would’ve remained an afterthought among NFL circles had Beckham and just about every other receiver on the New York roster not been bitten by the injury bug.

Cruz would walk right into the facility at any point this week. He knows the playbook. He’s worked with Manning, head coach Ben McAdoo and others within the organization. He’s familiar with the surroundings, the stadium, the New York media and the fans. Being 0-5 wouldn’t matter, especially for an individual happy to extend his playing career any possible way. He’d probably even dance a salsa or two between Week 6 and the final game of the season.

Nobody, not even the biggest Cruz supporter hoping to see him finish his time in the league as a member of the Giants, should kid himself about what will occur if the team brings him home. The Cruz who is remembered lives only in YouTube clips, NFL Films broadcasts, old editions of Madden and imaginations. He can’t turn the clock back.

Cruz being a shell of his former self isn’t the only reason the Giants shouldn’t sign him. After the club released him, the veteran suggested Manning and/or others held him down in 2016 to “get him off the books.” Those claims were debunked by multiple analysts who used stats to explain Cruz simply didn’t play well. It’s a safe bet at least a few men inside the locker room wouldn’t be thrilled to see Cruz walk through the door this week.

Next: 2017 NFL Power Rankings: Week 6

This is bound to be one of the most disappointing Giants seasons in recent memory. A roster believed to possess the goods to win the Super Bowl next February is in shambles after five games, to the point that predictions forecasting the Giants would emerge as the best team in the NFC, at least, are downright laughable in the middle of October.

The Giants need bodies on the depth chart. Cruz, theoretically, can play the position until his bodies betrays him one last time. With or without Cruz, the Giants are dancing toward the basement of NFL standings, and no cheap pop that occurs at MetLife Stadium this fall will change that.