There's not a player on the New Orleans Saints who has had fans call for his job more than Cesar Ruiz. He revealed he sees it all on Terron Armstead's The Set, and it's motivation. Ruiz repeatedly told his former teammate, "I've got something to prove."
"It was eating me up, you know what I'm saying? Like it was really bothering me," Ruiz said in reflection of last season. That regret has turned into offseason motivation. If passion can turn into performance, we may be about to see the best version of Ruiz in 2026.
"I got something to prove, bro. Not only to people watching, but to myself, you know, and that's really been the mindset, especially this whole offseason. Everybody who don't think I can do it. I know I can do it. I know I can do it. A lot of people don't think I can. And you know, I don't read too much and everything, but you know, when it'll come across your screen, you can feel the vibes. If you don't think I can, thank you. Thank you. Like, I need you to not believe in me, bro."
Cesar Ruiz can silence doubters with one simple fix
Ruiz's career has suffered from a lack of consistency. If he can develop that, then fans will have less to complain about. We've seen the highs and lows of his career. It's safe to say he won't be a great player, but Ruiz has shown the ability to be a good starting caliber guard.
Ruiz has athleticism to move, but power can certainly be a weak point. All in all, the best version of Ruiz can be solid. If you get that version of him the Saints offensive line should be really good. The pieces around generate a lot of excitement when fully healthy, so Ruiz's play and Erik McCoy's health are the X-factors of the unit.
The issue is knowing when you'll get that version of Ruiz. He knows last year wasn't a good season for him, and he was even more disappointed about it because he felt like 2024 was his best season yet. Ruiz obviously needs to develop year-to-year consistency, but he more importantly needs to find week-to-week consistency.
Ruiz tends to lose in ways that are impossible to ignore. Because those losses are so noticeable, fans can't help but talk about it. Offensive linemen lose all the time. If he can just smooth out the big losses, the conversation changes. If Ruiz takes it a step further and plays like the best version of himself, he'll begin to silence some critics. It's ultimately going to take doing it in back to back seasons to quiet them all.
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