The Sports Xchange

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants veteran wide receiver Victor Cruz, who is recovering from a torn patellar tendon in a knee, is working hard to be ready for the start of training camp.

While his teammates were busy working on drills in this week’s OTAs, Cruz was running sprints and doing a little bit of cutting on a nearby field under the watchful eye of a trainer.

Cruz, who moved well and was focusing on regaining his burst, said afterward that he was anxious to get back to working with his teammates.

“I am running routes and feeling good, but I know there is still a process and I am still a little ways away in terms of strength-wise and things like that,” he said.

“It feels good and watching those guys run routes and catch balls, I am definitely itching to get back out there. (Things) are going well. I moved into running more routes and running some more patterns, (and) am feeling more confident in that regard. It is feeling really good right now.”

While it would be a long shot for Cruz to participate in the upcoming three-day minicamp in June, he is hoping he can make the jump from his estimated 80 percent recovery to be cleared to do some things with the team.

“I think the (medical staff) are just going to take it slow,” he said. “I think I am going to do some individuals later on. I think sometime in June and then we will take it from there.”

Former St. Louis Rams tackle Jake Long visited the Giants on Thursday. Not a bad move for him considering the line still seems in disarray.

Long, who is trying to make a comeback from two ACL injuries to the same knee, met with Giants team and medical officials in order for them to gauge where he is in his latest rehab from his second torn ACL, an injury he suffered in October.

The Giants are extremely thin at offensive tackle thanks to the pectoral injury that will sideline starting left tackle Will Beatty for at least five months.

New York’s current offensive line configuration has rookie Ereck Flowers and veteran Marshall Newhouse as the left and right tackle, respectively, with former right tackle Justin Pugh having moved inside to left guard.

Guards Geoff Schwartz and John Jerry also have experience playing tackle, but they appear destined for inside roles rather than playing on the island.

At the end of the 2014 season, Pugh, who just completed his second year as the team’s starting right tackle, bristled when asked if he would be receptive toward a move inside to guard.

“I really don’t like that question (of moving to guard) because I came here to play tackle,” he said at the time. “If (the coaches) ask me to move, they ask me to move. I think I’ve done a pretty good job at right tackle, so I plan on staying there.”

Over time, Pugh apparently rethought his position about his position on the offensive line, and is a little more receptive to moving inside to guard, where he will line up on the left side.

“I like it,” he said after taking his first team snaps at left guard in the Giants’ first OTA this week. “Wherever I have to play is where I am going to play. Right now, I am at left guard and I love it.”

Pugh played left tackle at Syracuse and said the last time he started a game at guard was when he was an 18-year-old senior in high school. But in a harbinger of how NFL coaches and scouts see him, Pugh did take snaps at guard during the 2013 Senior Bowl before he was drafted in the first round by the Giants that spring.

So far, so good, though, as far as his transition is concerned.

“Obviously, it is a totally different position,” he said. “I am on the other side of the ball. I feel comfortable being in a left-handed stance. I am leaning on John Jerry and Geoff Schwartz to really help me out because they have that experience in that position.”

One of the things Pugh said he loves about his new position is that it will put his ability to pull on display if the coaches choose to use it.

“Having the ability to get free shots on guys, going up to the linebackers, I can utilize my ability to pull. I am embracing it,” he said. “I am going to be the best left guard that I can be and help produce for this team. We have to run the ball and we have to be stout.”

He is also looking forward to helping out whoever ultimately lines up next to him at left tackle. Right now, that appears to be rookie Ereck Flowers, who took first-team snaps at the position with Beatty, the incumbent, sidelined.

“I think that is what it is all about,” Pugh said about helping Flowers become acclimated in his new spot. “He is going to step up. He is a great kid. I am looking forward to working with him and getting on the same page.”

–Defensive end Robert Ayers dodged a major bullet during the team’s first OTAs after suffering what looked to be significant injuries to his left knee and ankle.

The injuries occurred during the team’s first 11-on-11 drill, according to head coach Tom Coughlin.

“It was the first play and he, for some reason, went low and got pushed down into the ground. How he did that, I am not exactly sure,” Coughlin said after the first OTA practice while Ayers was being evaluated.

“This is a time when if you really understand what phase three is, which they have been told there is not any live contact and they have to play with their hands and their feet. I am disappointed in that, but I am hoping what it turns out to be is not serious.”

The good news is that the injuries weren’t serious. Ayers suffered no significant damage to either joint. However, he could end up being a spectator for the next few OTA workouts while he heals.

–Injury update: Safety Nat Berhe (calf), linebacker Devon Kennard (ankle) and defensive end Owa Odighizuwa (knee) were all limited for the Giants’ OTA workouts. None of the injuries are believed to be significant.