Mason Foster Signs with Buccaneers, Will They Say Adios to Barrett Ruud?

"We have signed Mason Foster. He's a big part of our future plans."

So said Buccaneer GM Mark Dominik Tuesday afternoon that the future middle linebacker will be on the field when camp opens on Thursday.

"ASAP for the others," said Dominik, referring to Adrian Clayborn and Da'Quan Bowers and the rest.

"I want to have them out there the first day of training camp," he said emphatically.

"A lot of things in motion upstairs," Dominik said as he took a break for his constant time on the telephone lines at One Buc.

"We'll sign 15-20 college free agents to fill out our roster," he said. One of those was linebacker Derrell Smith from Syracuse. "We'll announce all of them once we've signed them all."

Along with Mason, Dominik also said the Bucs have signed seventh-round pick Daniel Hardy, the tight end from Idaho.

With Mason in the fold, the world wondered about the Bucs and Barrett Ruud. Dominik skillfully danced around the Ruud situation as if nothing is happening at this moment.

Which begs the question—are the Bucs ready to go forward without Barrett Ruud?

For all intents and purposes, with the emphasis on getting Foster signed first, it could be that the Bucs are prepared to move on without Ruud.

It was no priority to sign Ruud, instead, electing to sign the draft pick.

Dominik also predicted that Da'Quan Bowers is ready for camp. "I see Da'Quan Bowers being ready to go, day one," Dominik observed.

"We feel good about the health of this team," he said after seeing Gerald McCoy, Cody Grimm and Arrelious Benn at the facility Tuesday.

Dominik once again reiterated the Bucs would sign their own free agents, with perhaps the exception of Ruud, and as for veteran free agents, "They would have to come in and make an immediate impact," he said.

It was obvious Foster was the priority.

Which speaks volumes of Ruud's future in Tampa.

Tom Edrington is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained from a teleconference carried live on local Tampa Bay radio.