Cesar Ruiz has been the bane of many New Orleans Saints fans’ existence for years at this point. They have clamored to see the former first round pick be replaced. If Torricelli Simpkins or Dillon Radunz performs well over the next month, fans may finally get their wish
Ruiz left Sunday’s game the Buffalo Bills after being rolled up and injuring his ankle. He wasn’t able to return to the game, but the severity of the injury was unknown until the following day. Monday morning, it was reported Ruiz would miss 4-6 weeks with a high ankle sprain. The way I see it this is an audition for whoever takes his place in the starting lineup.
The complaints about Ruiz can be traced back years, but they seemed to reach an all-time high in Kellen Moore’s debut season. Maybe it was the terrible preseason, or the idea that a new coach would have no loyalty to Ruiz. Moore preaches a clean slate approach. Ruiz has quickly sullied that clean slate.
Toricelli Simpkins has to take the job from Cesar Ruiz because the Saints won’t just give it away
Frustration aside, the Saints likely aren’t going to just hand over the job to the younger option. We saw that at cornerback with Quincy Riley taking over for Isaac Yiadom. Riley was a fourth round pick, and Simpkins went undrafted. The level of investment is different, so the urgency to get them in the lineup will be different as well.
Simpkins can take advantage of Ruiz’s poor play. The Saints may not be throwing the job at Simpkins, but Ruiz certainly hasn’t played well enough to guarantee his spot upon return. Over the next four weeks, Simpkins will be playing for his job every snap.
The rookie was a preseason darling. He got his first career start against the Seahawks, and it was a rough day. Simpkins allowed five pressures that game at left guard, per Pro Football Focus. He put up a better showing when filling in for Ruiz last week. Simpkins didn’t allow a single pressure.
The other name in the mix is Dillon Radunz. He’s currently on the shelf with a toe injury. Radunz is a veteran, like Ruiz, and he has experience starting at right guard. Not only is Simpkins looking take the starting job from Ruiz, he’ll have to play well enough to keep Radunz from getting a turn when he gets healthy. That’s a battle that’ll be ongoing every week.
Regardless if it’s Simpkins or Radunz, either man playing well for an extended period of time could spell the end of Ruiz’s time in the starting lineup. Four to six weeks is an ample amount of time to make a case, and Ruiz hasn’t set a high bar to reach either. The next month will be interesting to watch.
