Barrett Ruud Guaranteed a Banner Year with Tampa Bay Bucs

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made 2009 a banner year for linebacker Barrett Ruud.

Would that be a deserved contract extension?

No.

Would that be at least some talk about an extension?

No.

Would you believe a new "banner" for Ruud?

The Buccaneers feature their star players with 83-feet by 43-feet banners hung outside of Raymond James Stadium.

They're huge, and make fatheads look like pin-heads.

First up for 2009, linebacker Barrett Ruud.

Down came Brooks and Dunn.

Not the country group, but banners of future Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks and running back Warrick Dunn. Both are casualties of the new world order at One Buccaneer Place.

More banners are on the way.

Veteran cornerback Ronde Barber is a safe bet to grace the exterior walls. Outside of that, it's anyone's guess.

Perhaps Antonio Bryant or maybe defensive end Gaines Adams, although his performance has been hardly what wall banners are made of.

Running back Ernest Graham, a blue-collar kind of guy who made his way up the ladder after Jon Gruden relegated him to special team service for too long, would also be a popular pick.

They shouldn't plan on throwing a quarterback up there unless they want to look into the future and hang Josh Freeman there. Can't see that happening to a player who has yet to throw a pass in the league.

Still, it's okay to hang Ruud up there.

Just as long as they don't leave him hanging in contract-extension limbo.