EAST RUTHERFORD, N. J. — Losing a player for the season is never an easy pill to swallow for an NFL team.

For the New York Giants, the loss of receiver Victor Cruz, who tore the patellar tendon in his right knee during the third quarter of Sunday’s loss, is about as big as a loss can be.

Cruz, an offensive co-captain and the Giants’ No. 1 receiver, spent Sunday night at a Philadelphia area hospital.

On Monday afternoon, Cruz was transferred to the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan for further evaluation and will likely have surgery in the near future so he can begin his healing process.

“Victor is a very, very positive and popular young man who has meant a lot to this franchise just by virtue of his work ethic and the fact that he’s a Pro Bowl playmaker,” head coach Tom Coughlin said.

“(Cruz’s loss) is another test for our team, not just the offensive side of the ball, but really our team, because leaders have to continue to come forward and this is an opportunity for someone else to get themselves into a position of leadership on this team.”

Those receivers who will have that opportunity will include Odell Beckham Jr., their first-round draft pick this year, Rueben Randle and Preston Parker.

Quarterback Eli Manning expressed confidence in those three and their ability to crank up their respective levels of play in Cruz’s absence.

“I think (Beckham) did some good things in the game,” Manning said of the rookie who made his first start on Sunday and who has now played two weeks in a row after missing most of training camp and all of the preseason games with a hamstring injury.

“We had some opportunities to hit some big ones in the game; we just never quite got the time to hit him on some things,” Manning said of Beckham, who played in 56 of the Giants’ 64 snaps on offense and who finished with two receptions for 28 yards. “I think his role will definitely grow a little bit.”

Then there are Randle and Parker, the two veterans who will also be called upon to carry an increased workload.

Randle, a second-round pick of the Giants in 2012, has 28 catches for 247 yards and two touchdowns this season. However, he has continued to struggle with getting on the same page as Manning, the most recent of which being on Sunday when Manning threw a timing pass one way and Randle ran the other.

“Rueben Randle has been doing some good things,” Manning said of his No. 2 receiver this year who has not seen many snaps in the slot.

Parker, who was promoted to the third wideout spot after wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan was lost for the season after Week 2 with a foot sprain, has only been targeted in the passing game this year 15 times, catching 11 balls for 158 yards. Manning said that Parker can expect his role to increase as well, and hinted that Parker could be an option in the slot.

“Preston Parker is going to have to come in and play well for us and do some of the things Victor has done,” Manning said. “I think he’s up for the challenge.”

Coughlin told reporters that no decisions have been made yet regarding how the team plans to carry on without Cruz.

“We’ll start with the ingredients that we have,” Coughlin said, adding, “The idea strategically about how we would use any of our personnel will go on tonight and tomorrow.”