Victor Cruz stood in the middle of Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J., on Wednesday with the Manhattan skyline in the background.
On the 84-degree day, the former Giants wide receiver and Super Bowl winner was hard pressed to miss throwing on the pads and helmet for mini camp.
“I’m out here in this heat in the suit, and I don’t miss it. Let alone being out there with half pads and shorts,” Cruz said.
The Super Bowl champion was on hand for an event celebrating the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup, but naturally, the conversation eventually turned to the Giants with minicamp starting next week.
Though Cruz doesn’t miss having to sweat in the burning New Jersey sun, he did get a sense of nostalgia after a recent visit to the Giants’ facility in East Rutherford.
“I started to get the bug back. I started stretching. I was like, hold on, Vic, what are you doing?” Cruz said. “But being back there and missing the guys and being in the locker room and just having that energy back a little bit. It’s a little nostalgic for me.”
Cruz won’t be suiting up anytime soon, but the former star wide receiver was somewhat optimistic about the Giants’ fortunes going into 2025, predicting that Big Blue would be above .500 this upcoming season.
“I think we have a good team. I think for the first time, [head coach Brian Daboll] has a team in a draft that you could feel he wrapped his arms around. These are his guys and we’ll see how he develops them and, and get them ready to play.”
The Giants took edge rusher Abdul Carter with the No. 3 overall pick and traded back into the first round to select quarterback Jaxson Dart at No. 25.
Cruz liked the idea of Dart being able to learn from both veteran quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, describing the former as the “ultimate pro’s pro” and the latter as having a “gunslinger sort of mentality.”
“I think Jaxson could learn some things for both of those things,” Cruz said.
Cruz emceed the 2026 World Cup event, with a number of local sports stars and politicians on hand, to mark the impending global soccer tournament, which will feature eight World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium, including the final.
Liberty State Park will also serve as the official site of the FIFA Fan Festival New York New Jersey.
And Cruz expected the festivities to be “iconic.
“I’ve obviously played in some big games, some big moments. But this is another level. We’re talking about the biggest sporting event in the world coming to the New York-New Jersey region,” he said. “And this very park will be the place in the country where fans can catch every single one of the 104 matches – right here on these grounds, with views of the Statue of Liberty, and all the vibes that are happening. It’s going to be incredible. It’s going to be iconic.”