The good news keeps coming for Chicago PD fans! Not only is Patrick John Flueger finally returning as Ruzek, but fans can look forward to seeing Flueger step into the spotlight for a Ruzek-centered episode this March!
Following his leave of absence from the show, Flueger will return in the March 11 episode, marking his first on-screen appearance since Chicago PD season 13, episode 5, “Miami,” which aired on October 29, 2025. It’s not yet clear how the show will work his return into the mix, but with Chicago PD season 13, episode 14, “Meant to Be,” set to be a Burgess-focused episode, fans should expect Ruzek to play a large role in the case.
Fans will then get to see Ruzek take center stage in Chicago PD season 13, episode 15, “Live or Die by Your CI,” an episode that will—you guessed it—be connected to Ruzek and one of his confidential informants. In the episode, red flags go up for Ruzek when a DEA agent reaches out to him looking for details about a missing informant. Given the episode title, it seems that this informant will be involved in a life-or-death situation, and fans can expect Ruzek to be at the center of the action.
Additional information about the episode should come to light when NBC drops the official promo for the episode on March 11 following episode 13. In the promo, we should get more information on Ruzek’s role in the case and the informant who goes missing, but it seems likely that the informant will be someone Ruzek has worked with in the past. With the DEA being involved, the case will surely be connected to a drug operation of some kind, with this informant likely connected to an ongoing investigation and looming drug bust.
We’ll have to wait to see what the episode brings, but it’s so exciting to know that the Chicago PD writers will be wasting no time in bringing Flueger back into the fold! Season 13 hasn’t been the same since the show was forced to write Ruzek out for a stretch to accommodate Flueger’s leave of absence, and fans are thrilled to know that Ruzek will finally be back in episode 13.
We’re also expecting that since Flueger missed a large number of episodes this season, we shouldn’t see him miss many, if any, additional episodes as we enter the home stretch of the season. That's not to say there isn’t a chance Ruzek could miss another episode before the season wraps, but it seems like fans should be able to count on Ruzek being present moving forward.
Now that Ruzek is back, we do wonder if the show will expand upon the storyline with his father, Bob, given that it was an emergency with his dad that kept Ruzek away. Outside of letting us know that there was an emergency and Ruzek was taking time off to be with his dad, little was revealed about what had happened. Hopefully, the writers will weave the thread into Ruzek's ongoing storyline and provide viewers with at least one update or perhaps even an appearance from Bob in the upcoming episodes.