Embattled Saints RG Cesar Ruiz working hard to prove doubters wrong

Terron Armstead is on a hitter in his turn to working in the media. The retired New Orleans Saints left tackle has landed some big names for interviews on his The Set YouTube show, ranging from his old teammate Cameron Jordan to the new Saints quarterback Tyler Shough. And now one of his proteges has jumped on the mic, with 2020 first-round pick Cesar Ruiz talking about his personal expectations for 2026. Ruiz says there's been a fire lit under him after being called out by fans online and even Saints general manager Mickey Loomis in his end-of-year press conference.

"Oh, bro. I got something to prove, bro. I got something to prove," Ruiz began. "Honestly, I've got something to prove because obviously last season wasn't, I didn't capitalize off the year before like I wanted to. Came off the best season I ever had in my life. We talked cover of Sports Illustrated, remember all the stuff we talked about. I'm like, man, I'm having an amazing season and to not be able to capitalize off that how I wanted to, um, it lit a fire, bro. And it was eating me up, you know what I'm saying? Like it was really bothering me."

Ruiz is certainly passionate about his craft ("I love this game, bro. I'd do this (expletive) for free. You know what I'm saying?"), and now he's putting in the work to train with Armstead and his teammates in the offseason. Ruiz joined Taliese Fuaga and Kelvin Banks Jr. for workouts under Armstead's instruction earlier in April. Between working to tighten up his pass sets and clean up his footwork so he can be a better asset on run plays, Ruiz is determined to help his team win more games in 2026. He's going into Year 7 with just one playoff win in his career, way back in 2020 as a rookie. He's hungry for more.

He kept repeating that mantra: "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." When asked who he's proving himself to, Ruiz answered "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. I need you to because I believe in myself. And when I overcome all this and show y'all, like, hey: I'm still that."