If the current generation of sports observers can be known for one thing, it’s that we have developed extremely short memories.

We all know what particularly difficult to recover from.

When you combine his injury, the money he is slated to make over the next four seasons, and the superstar emergence of Beckham, Cruz’s number one receiver role in the Big Apple is anything but clear.

Cruz's Future

According to an ESPN report, Giants’ head coach Tom Coughlin was reluctant to commit to anything regarding Cruz’s status.

“I think he’ll be the player that he was, and hopefully better,” Coughlin said of Cruz. “But as far as when, I would be careful of what I would say there. Hopefully it’s the first game. But if it isn’t, you know we’ve done that one before. We just went through it. But I’m hoping it would be.”

Money could also become an eventual issue should his recover take longer than hoped for, or if he simply does not return to a performance level similar to what he's accomplished in the past. According to Spotrac, Cruz is owed an average of $8.98 million per season for the next four years, making him the second-highest paid player on the roster behind only Eli Manning.

There’s no denying that the Giants’ offense would be much more dangerous with a 2011-version of Cruz lining up opposite of Beckham this coming fall. With a pass-catching running back like Shane Vereen also now in the mix, the passing game has the potential to be dynamic. But whether or not all the pieces will come together is yet to be determined.

It’s yet to been seen how Cruz’s surgically-repaired knee will respond once he does return to full contact practices and then eventually real game situations. If he does return to his previous level of play, the Giants will be a dangerous offensive squad, and the coaches and front office are remaining hopefully he will do just that.

If not however, the Giants may be faced with tough decisions regarding how willing they are to pay Cruz’s going rate for decreased performance.