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Cesar Ruiz will probably start at center for the New Orleans Saints for many years. But on Monday night against the Las Vegas Raiders, he opened his very first Saints game as an observer.
The Saints stuck with second-year pro Erik McCoy at center and backup lineman Nick Easton at right guard, calling on reserve tackle Derrick Kelly to go into the game as a sixth man occasionally. And it makes sense considering that Ruiz has only turned in two full practices since his Aug. 28 ankle injury.
In hindsight, we were far too quick to project Ruiz as a starter once he returned to work. Sure, he was their top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, and highly lauded out of Michigan. But while he’s the best talent to start next to McCoy this year — and maybe replace McCoy in the future, shifting the veteran to guard — he probably isn’t there just yet in this specific set of circumstances.
It could a full week of practice for Ruiz to re-acclimate to the complicated Saints offense (which has given even well-seasoned wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders problems), or at least to get him to a point where the Saints coaching staff is ready to put him in the game.
Hopefully he’ll be ready soon. In the meantime, Ruiz can watch from the sidelines and memorize the offense’s cadence. Once the coaches feel he’s ready, he should hit the ground running.
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