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5 hours ago
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The Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks are two teams that could use an upgrade at guard.
The Bengals' starting guard situation is a mess, with Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers both struggling, and Lucas Patrick, who just came back from injury, isn't going to be the solution Cincinnati needs.
In Seattle, the Seahawks are running Anthony Bradford out there every week, but we're not sure he should even be on an NFL roster — let alone starting — with his 18.0 Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade, which ranks 80th out of 82 guards.
Luckily, the New Orleans Saints might have a guard available. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports teams believe the Saints could make Cesar Ruiz available at the deadline.
"Teams I've spoken to are under the impression that guard Cesar Ruiz might be available at the right price," Fowler reports.
At 1-7, the Saints should be sellers at the deadline and there is sure to be a market for guards, so New Orleans might get an attractive enough offer to move off Ruiz.
Ruiz has struggled in run-blocking this season, as evidenced by his PFF grade of 46.0 in that area, but we've seen him play better than that in years past. In 2024, Ruiz had a career-high 64.4 run-blocking grade.
Ruiz is a plus pass protector. He has allowed just one sack and 11 pressures and is posting a PFF pass-blocking grade of 65.2 this season.
In Seattle, Ruiz would be a sizeable upgrade over Bradford as a pass-blocker, and if he can return to his 2024 form in the run game, Ruiz would be an upgrade as a run-blocker, also.
For the Bengals, Ruiz would amount to an upgrade in both departments over Rivers and he is a much better pass-blocker than Fairchild, which is particularly important because Cincinnati needs to keep Joe Burrow upright.
When it comes to compensation, a mid-round pick is probably how much it'll cost to acquire Ruiz. That's not bad for a starting-caliber guard, and especially one that is under contract through 2027.
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