Victor Cruz posted the video above on Instagram Tuesday night. It was nice to see the New York Giants wide receiver, trying to come back from a torn patellar tendon and calf surgery that have sidelined him since Week 6 of the 2014 season, running jumping, and lifting.
To be honest, though, I wasn't certain exactly how impressive or unimpressive what we see in the video is. So, I turned to Brandon Thorn (@VeteranScout), a well-respected evaluator whose work can be found in a variety of places. Here is what Thorn had to say about the video:
"I think it all is encouraging, you can see the vertical/forward explosion plus the single leg squat is a good measure of balance and strength in the surrounding areas of his knee. I would like to see him move laterally though, I think that will be key in determining how close he is to 100 percent.
"The left calf injury that he suffered is intriguing. I wonder how much of that had to do with him possibly compensating for the return from the torn right patellar tendon, and how much that could affect him moving forward. The patellar connects the bottom of the knee cap to the top of the shin (tibia) so seeing him able to bend his knee with a load is encouraging in that regard."
Thorn's is just one opinion, of course. It does, however, add a little context to what we see from Cruz in this workout snippet.