The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... Tom Coughlin has no doubt Cruz will return from his torn patellar tendon. "I think he'll be the player that he was and hopefully better," he said Wednesday morning. As for when that will happen? "I'd be careful of what I would say there," he said. "Hopefully it's the first game, but, you know what, if it isn't, we've done that one before. We just went through it."

Diehards Line: Coughlin was referencing how rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham was sidelined for the first few weeks of the 2014 season with a hamstring injury before the Giants unleashed him upon the world. Coughlin said he saw Cruz doing some running in the Giants' field house recently. He said Cruz looks lighter and in shape. "He's coming along very well," Coughlin said, adding that the medical staff has told him he can expect a full recovery. There is no timeline for Cruz's return. Still, Coughlin did echo what Cruz has been saying for the last few weeks, that the start of training camp is a goal. "Even if it's just to bring him [along]," Coughlin said. "You're not going to just throw him to the wind. He'll work his way through. But I would hope that would be the target."