Patience is growing thin for Cesar Ruiz among a lot of New Orleans Saints fans. The team’s 2020 first round pick hasn’t done well through his first two years in the NFL, struggling to convert from center to guard after turning pro out of Michigan. Between breakdowns in pass protection and missed assignments as a run blocker, he’s earned the ire of a lot of would-be supporters.
But the Saints themselves are giving Ruiz some slack. General manager Mickey Loomis observed that he’s taken an unusual road to the NFL with the bulk of his first two offseasons being conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited the time Ruiz was spending with his position coaches and the strength and conditioning staff.
“People forget,” Loomis told Boot Krewe Media’s Jack Culotta Jr., “This is Cesar Ruiz’s first offseason. There are expectations on some of these guys that, with a full offseason, we’re going to see a jump from these guys.”
Now, making an excuse for Ruiz’s subpar level of play isn’t the same as okaying it. The Saints made moves to better support Ruiz early this year — the first hire that Dennis Allen made to his new coaching staff was offensive line coach Doug Marrone, a former NFL head coach who was arguably overqualified for the job. Getting regular work in with Marrone over the summer leading into training camp should do a lot for Ruiz’s development.
At least that’s the expectation. Also consider the circumstances of Ruiz’s age. He turned 23 in June and is younger than some of his rookie teammates, and it’s common for offensive linemen like him to take a couple years getting up to speed (which is something Saints fans experienced before with Andrus Peat). It’s very possible that Ruiz will enjoy a more successful second leg of his career after these initial struggles.
But at the same time, Ruiz wasn’t the only player drafted at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and asked to switch positions in the NFL. He isn’t the only one younger and less experienced than his peers, either. Other players have seen the same hurdles and cleared them. All the coaching changes and practice time in the world won’t matter if he doesn’t cut down on the in-the-moment mental mistakes and botched assignments. At the end of the day, he’s got to do a better job. The Saints have done what they can to throw him a line. Now it’s up to Ruiz to sink or swim.
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