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What’s bad news for one is sometimes excellent news for another.
When NFL teams draft a player in the first round of the draft, they usually aren’t selecting players they intend to be backups. Such is also the case with the New Orleans Saints with former Michigan center Cesar Ruiz.
Ruiz was selected with the No. 24 pick of the 2020 NFL Draft by Sean Payton’s team, but the fans down in NOLA were confused by the pick. They didn’t feel like the team needed another offensive lineman, as it already had an entrenched starting five up front. There was some consternation about the future of guard Larry Warford, an apparent fan favorite who made the Pro Bowl all three years he was in New Orleans.
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Well, Warford was the recipient of bad news on Friday, having been cut by the franchise.
Source: The #Saints have cut guard Larry Warford, who will be one of the top FAs available.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 8, 2020
As a result, Ruiz has something of an inside track to starting — potentially at that guard spot rather than his native center.
From our sister site ChiefsWire:
This opens the door for either first-round pick Cesar Ruiz or last year’s standout rookie Erik McCoy to start in Warford’s place. Both players have started at guard at the college level, though they’ve played the majority of snaps at center. It’ll be interesting to see who lines up where this season, but at least the Saints will get the opportunity to field each of their highly-drafted players.
Given McCoy’s presence, Ruiz will still have to win the job. The former Texas A&M standout was a second-round pick by the saints just a year ago in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Regardless, it’s a winning proposition for Ruiz, even though the former Detroit Lions-draftee in Warford is now searching for a new home as the former Wolverine gets settled down in the bayou.