Cesar Ruiz wasn't the starting right guard at Saturday's practice. Under normal circumstances, that would be a huge story but not this time. The real story is the New Orleans Saints may have found a solution to their Erik McCoy problem, and it's Cesar Ruiz.
McCoy has struggled with injury over the last two seasons and was limited to just seven games in both 2025 and 2024. The damage his absence did in 2024 leaves a lingering impact on the view of McCoy missing time. Luke Fortner steadied the ship last season, but Fortner is now the Carolina Panthers starting center.
The Saints made no move to replace Fortner, leaving fans concerned about what would happen if McCoy's injury woes persisted. Hate it or love it, we now at least have an idea of what the plan is. Ruiz appears to be next in line if history repeats itself.
Cesar Ruiz isn't at risk of the Saints replacing him
Ruiz was taking snaps with the second team offense but at center. That should tell you everything you need to know about his job security. If Ruiz was taking the second team snaps at right guard, that would suggest a demotion or battle. The Saints didn't decide to demote him and change his position.
The team just understands Ruiz needs time at center in practice to prepare in case they need him. This was always part of the plan as well, so it shouldn't be taken as a response to how camp has transpired.
"This was pre-planned, we needed to get him some exposure at center. We didn’t do it a ton last year at training camp and fortunate for us, we had Luke (Fortner) last year," Moore told reporters. "We want to prepare these guys now and you always have to balance out the juggling act."
They haven't flat out labeled Ruiz the backup center. On Sunday, Torricelli Simpkins was back with the second team. Ruiz just represents an option, and an interesting option at that.
Ruiz played center in college, so it does make sense to put him in this position as the reserve center. It helps that the Saints have Dillon Radunz as the backup right guard, so they'll still have a player with starting experience at right guard if Ruiz has to move to center temporarily. Using Ruiz in this role is a solid plan, if it goes off without a hitch, and it could allow the Saints to truly use their depth to mitigate a bad situation without making a new bad situation.
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