Barrett Ruud and the Rude Awakening: Where Will No. 51 End Up?

"You are who your film says you are."

That's a favorite quote from former Tampa Bay Buccaneer offensive lineman Ian Beckles, who takes to the morning airwaves in Tampa on WDAE 620 and has long professed that Barrett Ruud simply isn't very good.

For the past season or so, Beckles has been adamant that Barrett Ruud's film says someone else should be starting in the middle of the Buccaneer defense.

Looks like Beckles can chalk one up in the "I was right" column. 

That day has apparently come with the instant signing of third-round pick Mason Foster and General Manager Mark Dominik's declaration that the Bucs "wanted him in the building as soon as possible to begin the learning process."

At that point, it became evident that Barrett Ruud's days as a Buccaneer have most likely come to an end.

That being said, Ruud indicated on Tuesday that he hasn't yet resigned himself to that thought. "I really hate to say that the door is shut until it's all said and done. I really don't know how this thing is going to go," he told the Tampa Tribune.

So where does Ruud go now?

It's not like a ton of teams are looking for an undersized middle linebacker who runs the Tampa 2.

It could be a short trip upstate for Ruud. Straight to Jacksonville.

The Jaguars have let two of their starting linebackers go—Justin Durant and Kirk Morrison take that free agent walk, the same one that Ruud is on.

Another team in search of a middle linebacker is the New York Giants. But the Giants may have their eyes on Buffalo middle linebacker Paul Posloszny, the "Poz."

The Barrett Ruud era looks like it has ended in Tampa after a six-year run. Ruud wanted a long-term contract and with Foster on board, it just wasn't going to happen.

It is just a plain and simple R-u-u-u-u-u-d awakening for no. 51.