New Orleans Saints right guard Cesar Ruiz played for Michigan during his collegiate days from 2017-2019 before entering the NFL draft following his junior season.
The Saints selected the Michigan center with the 24th pick in the 2020 draft and New Orleans opted to move him to guard. Ruiz has started 40 out of 46 games played with the Saints since his joining the team. This past season, Ruiz started all 14 games before being sidelined with a foot injury.
Entering his fourth NFL season, teams can opt to use their fifth-year options on the 2020 NFL draft selections, but according to Ian Rapoport, the Saints are declining the option on Ruiz.
The #Saints are not picking up the fifth-year option for OL Cesar Ruiz, source said. He now heads into a contract year for New Orleans.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 1, 2023
If the Saints would have opted to use their option on Ruiz, the club would have paid $14.175 million to Ruiz for 2024. Since the Saints are declining his option, the former Michigan center with be a free agent after the 2023 season, unless New Orleans can agree to long-term deal with the NFL guard.
Ruiz has seen vast improvemnt since his first season with the Saints, so a new deal wouldn’t come to a surprise if the two sides can work it out.
During his Michigan playing days, Ruiz was a two-time All-Big Ten center and had 31 career starts.
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