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The Giants’ offense may be without one of its key players when facing off against the Bengals on Monday Night Football.
According to Art Stapleton, a Giants beat for The Record and USA Today Network, Giants wide receiver Cruz is not expected to play on Monday.
I'm told expectation now is Victor Cruz (ankle) will NOT play Monday night against the Bengals, per source.#Giants will play it cautious.
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) November 13, 2016
Cruz missed practice all week while dealing with an ankle injury and was ruled questionable to play on Saturday. Cruz left the Giants' Week 9 win over the Eagles with the injury, but it wasn't considered serious and was referred to as a sprain. Cruz had just one catch for 46 yards in that game.
Rookie receiver Roger Lewis filled in for Cruz in Week 9, but also caught just one pass for 30-yards, which just happened to be a touchdown. The Bengals will need to be cautious of the rookie who has three receptions this season, two of which were touchdowns.
This season, Cruz has 25 catches for 377 yards and 1 touchdown. That trails rookie receiver Sterling Shepard who has 54 receptions for 384 yards and 3 touchdowns.
If Cruz is in fact out, that should help out the Bengals’ defense, as long as they don’t forget to account for the Giants’ rookie receivers, that is.