Wrong kind of red zone for Victor Cruz

Red alert!

Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz returned to practice just as he said he would, but he did so wearing some unusual clothing. Instead of donning his normal white jersey with the number 80 on it and his name across the back, Cruz was wearing a red jersey, number 8, with no number. In other words, a non-contact jersey, the kind that quarterbacks typically wear. (This one in particular was from the David Carr Collection, apparently, although there was no name across the back of it.)

Besides standing out and having a halo of protection around him from teammates who might want to take a shot at him – or more likely accidentally jostle him – Cruz did not seem to be limited in any physical way during the portion of practice we saw. He was fielding punts, running routes and catching passes.

As for the rest of the injured players, there were some conspicuous absences. Most notable among them were Shaun Rogers and David Wilson, neither of whom was anywhere near the practice field. Normally, injured players will come out to watch, take mental reps, etc., and Wilson did that Wednesday while Rogers was limited. But neither was there Thursday, which can mean one of two things.

1) Absolutely nothing. Or …

2) They are going on injured reserve.

The Giants have some roster decisions to make by 4 p.m. Thursday, and with Andre Brown coming off injured reserve and DT Markus Kuhn possibly coming off PUP, the team will need to make some room on the roster. Since the positions of Brown and Kuhn (both of whom were practicing) match up with those of Wilson and Rogers, well, let’s just say speculation is pretty rampant.

Meanwhile, a few other guys on the sideline including Corey Webster, Brandon Jacobs and newcomer Trumaine McBride. Terrell Thomas returned to practice, and Jayron Hosley looked to be working fine. Adrien Robinson seemed like he was full go.