A few weeks ago, on a lonely field at Beverly Hills High School in California, Victor Cruz did something he’s done hundreds of times before. He ran a simple “square in” route, then sprinted across the back of the end zone, planted his right foot hard and jumped as if he were making a catch.
It was his final drill of the day in one of his final pre-camp workouts. It was also the first time he ran an exact replica of the play that caused the frightening and painful knee injury that ended his season nine months before.