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Giants' Cruz returns after 2-year absence: 'It felt like old times'

Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

One reception for four yards in a preseason game wouldn't usually leave a wide receiver beaming, but when that receiver hasn't played an NFL game in nearly two years, just stepping between the lines again is cause for celebration.

New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz did just that Saturday night, taking the field with the first-team offense in a 21-20 preseason victory over the Jets.

"It felt good to put that jersey on again, and go out there with my teammates," Cruz said following the game. "From the warmup to the pregame and to during the game - to be in the position to make a play and be out there running routes against an opposition - it felt good."

It was Cruz's first action since tearing his patellar tendon on Oct. 12, 2014. He's dealt with knee, calf, and groin injuries since then, with the latter keeping him on the sidelines for the first two weeks of this preseason.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning targeted Cruz twice on Saturday, under-throwing him in the second quarter before connecting for a small gain in the third.

"It felt like old times," Cruz said of his lone reception. "It felt like the ball was forever in the air until it got to my hands. It was good to catch that ball and get a little contact. Hopefully I can build on that, but it was definitely good to get that one in."

Odell Beckham Jr. and rookie Sterling Shepard, a second-round pick out of Oklahoma, should be Manning's prime targets in 2016, with Cruz likely fighting to slot in as the team's third receiver.

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