There’s already an agreement in place for the New Orleans Saints to trade for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson — if he waives his no-trade clause, both sides already know what they’ll be giving up. And while few specifics have come out on which picks and players could be part of the deal, we’ve known for a while that the Texans are seeking five or six assets, including three future first-round draft picks, other picks, and a couple of young starters on their rookie contracts.
One player who could be in the mix is right guard Cesar Ruiz, New Orleans’ first round pick in the 2020 draft. A college center at Michigan, Ruiz has struggled to hold down the starting job after changing positions in the NFL, and a change of scenery may be good for him. He was first suggested as someone who fit the Texans’ criteria by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhilll; now we’re hearing it from the Houston side, too, in Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson. Maybe there’s a fire putting off all this smoke.
Losing a young asset like Ruiz would hurt, but his specific performance could be replaced easily enough. There frankly isn’t much of a gap between what he’s done at right guard and what the Saints have seen from backup left guard Calvin Throckmorton, a former undrafted free agent who played on the right side at Oregon. And if the Saints can re-sign All-Pro left tackle Terron Armstead, they could push veteran backup James Hurst into a competition with Throckmorton to step into Ruiz’s spot. They could take the hit.
But Ruiz is unlikely to be the only player involved in a possible trade. Others the Saints could move include safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, cornerback Paulson Adebo, or wide receiver Marquez Callaway, or any other young starter on a cheap contract. We’ll just have to see how it plays out.
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