From the first moments of Saturday's Saints practice it was clear something would be different: Cesar Ruiz wasn't with the starters.
The former first round pick was taking snaps at center with the second team and that's where he remained throughout practice. Dillon Radunz was intended to get the starter reps but went down with an injury, so it was Will Sherman who lined up at left guard. The change was surprising and noteworthy to say the least, but head coach Kellen Moore made it clear the adjustment was in no way an indicator that the team is considering a change within that group.
"This was a pre-planned, we needed to get him some exposure at center," Moore said. "We didn’t do it a ton last year at training camp and, you know, fortunate for us, we had Luke [Fortner] last year. ... We want to prepare these guys now and you always have to balance out the juggling act."
Coverage brought to you by Trane: It's Hard To Stop A TraneTrane: It's Hard To Stop A TraneIt'd be easy to handwave away the explanation in infer that Ruiz's grip on that starting role might be slipping, but Moore's assessment makes more sense. It's certainly not Sherman who would be viewed as a potential replacement and we've already seen the Saints rotating first team reps at other positions. Isaac Yiadom has filtered in with the first-team defense in place of Quincy Riley, and we've seen both Danny Stutsman and Jaylan Ford taking some reps in place of Pete Werner.
Ruiz could've theoretically taken starting reps at right guard and stay on the field for center reps, but overloading a starter in practice isn't ideal and this team has already been very proactive about keeping workloads in check. The goal was to let Ruiz focus on playing center for two practices, meaning he will be expected to do the same on Sunday.
Moore wouldn't commit to Ruiz being the direct backup to Erik McCoy, who has been limited to 7 games in each of the past two seasons due to injuries.The most notable thing is that the Saints are preparing for that eventuality in the first place. Ruiz played center at Michigan before the Saints drafted him in the first round in 2021 and immediately moved him to guard. He's started five games at center for the Saints, but the most recent appearance there was in 2022. The Saints last year brought in now-assistant coach Will Clapp for that role, but he suffered a season-ending in the preseason. They ultimately swung a trade for Fortner, who started in 10 games before signing with the Carolina Panthers in the preseason. It's been Torricelli Simpkins III taking the second-team reps to this point, but the UDFA from last season is still yet to play that position in a regular season NFL game.
Whether it's Ruiz or not, the backup center job will be one to watch as the preseason rolls on.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
The attrition is starting to set in after eight practices, though three of the absences were not injury related. DE Cam Jordan, RB Alvin Kamara and LS Zach Wood were all up in Canton for Drew Brees' Hall of Fame induction.
Players missing due to injury included:
- WR Mason Tipon (PUP)
- RB Kendre Miller (back)
- RB Devin Neal (hamstring)
- CB Rejzohn Wright
- DT Christen Miller (toe)
- OL Jeremiah Wright (shoulder)
- LB Chris Rumph (ankle)
The Saints waived Zxavian Harris, a UDFA who had yet to appear in a practice as he worked back from offseason foot surgery. As noted above, Radunz was led off the field with a trainer after he suffered an apparent knee injury during a 1-on-1 rep against DT Vernon Broughton. Safety Julian Blackmon also left with a trainer early in practice with what Moore described as a knee issue. That one is concerning to me, but we'll have to wait and see. Jordan Howden took over reps with the 1s.
There was a scary moment in practice when WR Chris Olave came up in what looked like some significant pain after he battled Kool-Aid McKinstry on a route near the sideline. Olave took off his glove and was flexing his hand as he spoke with a trainer. It appeared he got his wrist taped and got back onto the field a few plays later, making a key reception in team drills. That's a good sign that he avoided anything significant, but it'll be something to keep an eye on.
The RB absences are beginning to seem problematic. There are only so many padded practices in camp and Miller has missed all four to this point. It was great to see him on the field at the start of camp after his torn ACL midway through last season, but the inability to stay on the field has been his biggest issue. Neal is earlier in his career and has time to avoid the injury-prone label, but this is now the fourth separate hamstring issue that's led to missed time. There was an injury in last year's camp that cost a chunk of his rookie preseason, a late-season hamstring injury that cost the final two games, a hamstring issue that cost him this year's minicamp, and now the most recent issue. If either of these players can stay on the field for an extended period, they'll probably take control of the RB3 job.
The Saints also made a handful of signings on the off day, including LB and New Orleans native Deion Jones, who has also played for the Falcons, Panthers and Bucs. Jones took over the No. 45 jersey, with Jackson Sirmon changing to 47. The Saints also claimed DL Garrett Nelson on waivers while signing DL Malaki Williams and Brien Taylor.
TYSON CONNECTION GROWING
Things got off to a slow start with Jordyn Tyson, and it wasn't unexpected. He was held out of virtually all of OTAs and minicamp and the connection between the No. 8 overall pick and Tyler Shough needed some time to build. Today was a good sign that it's happening.
I had Shough and Tyson hooking up three times in team drills, the first coming on a route where he created massive separation on an out cut against Quincy Riley in coverage. Shough found him at the sideline and Tyson dragged his feet for what would've been an easy first down.
The next two catches came on back-to-back reps in the second set of team drills. The first looked like a route adjustment against the blitz where he was effectively uncovered and ran a quick hitch, collecting the ball and weaving through the middle of the field for what looked like it'd have been a chunk play, if not a long touchdown.
The slow start for the Saints offense in camp made it easy to forget just how exciting this group has the potential to be. More days like this will bring that excitement right back in a hurry.
SITUATIONAL
The Saints were working on some interesting situations in today's camp, the first being backed up plays at their own goal line, the second being an "ice the game" set with the offense taking over at their own 35 with 2:30 remaining and a 24-21 lead. The defense had two timeouts.
The first team executed very well. Travis Etienne started things with a 3-yard run on what looked like an outside zone play. The defense used a timeout. Next it was Shough finding Olave over the middle for a gain of 17 and a first down, which took the game to the 2-minute warning. At that point the offense had effectively won the drill. Three runs would've taken the clock down to about 30 seconds with the opposition not having the ability to stop the clock. It's a scenario that comes up often, so it was good to see the offense deliver. It wasn't ideal for the defense, but we've already seen that group win enough to this stage.
The second-team offense didn't fare as well. The first play was an Audric Estime run that was stopped for a loss of 1 yard, and the second was a sack of Spencer Rattler.
KICKING UPDATE
First things first: With Zach Wood up in Canton, we got to learn the identity of the Saints' backup long snapper ... and it's DT John Ridgeway. Seriously. It was Ridgeway lining up and snapping the ball to Ryan Wright for Tanner Brown's six kicks on Saturday. What I'll say is they all got to their destination, but they were far from perfect. This is less a criticism and more a note to explain why there should be a bit of an asterisk next to today's kicking numbers.
That said, it was another far from perfect day. Brown made four of six kicks, with the misses coming from 45 and 54. Moore hasn't indicated that there's been a loss of confidence in the two kickers, but if at least one of these guys doesn't lock in soon, have to imagine there's a long look at the free agent wire and other rosters.
Here's where things stand after practice No. 8:
- Tanner Brown: 20-24, 83% (misses: PAT, 39, 45, 54; long of 56; 3-4 from 50-plus)
- Charlie Smyth: 18-22, 82% (misses: 39, 44, 45, 51; long of 54; 2-3 from 50-plus)
LAGNIAPPE
Isaiah Stalbird made an athletic interception today off of Spencer Rattler, with the LB leaping for a ball in front of Juwan Johnson. It's the second example of Rattler making a dangerous throw back across the field. He did it the other day and found Bryce Lance. It's a bit of a concerning habit. ... The Saints had a few different tributes to Drew Brees on Saturday as he officially entered the Hall of Fame. Coaches and staffers were all wearing white T-shirts with the No. 9, with many also wearing No. 9 hats. The No. 9 has also been painted at midfield of both practice fields. ... Zaire Mitchell-Paden has made a few nice catches in camp. There are just so many options in that room right now. ... There was lightning in the area that drove the final few minutes of practice indoors.
