When Pat Kirwan posted a short blurb on the Bucs in one of his articles for NFL.com, he added some breaking news:
I also hear middle linebacker Barrett Ruud will not be brought back
Or at least, JoeBucsFan and later 620WDAE's Justin Pawlowski thought so. Kirwan's reputation isn't one of an idle rumormonger, and JoeBucsFan notes he's usually plugged in with the Bucs. So it's not that strange to think Kirwan is breaking news here, right?
But here's the thing: whenever previously something about Barrett Ruud was leaked to the press it came down to "We'd like to have Barrett Ruud back, but we're not going to break the bank for him." There's no reason to believe that this suddenly changed after a few months of absolutely nothing changing about the situation. The Bucs don't have an experienced Middle Linebacker behind Barrett Ruud. If they let him go the backup plan is third-year player Tyrone McKenzie who has played only a handful of games in the NFL. So why would things have suddenly changed for the Bucs?
At the same time, journalists rely on sources within organizations. It's important to realize that these sources have their own agendas and that press leaks are often used as ways to get some information out there. Besides that, the opinions of one source may not be the opinions of everyone within the organization. That's not to say that it's all useless. Journalists with direct connections to the team have access to a lot of inside sources and good information, and they'll use that in various articles. And of course these journalists try to filter out the nonsense before reporting anything. In the end, it's simply important to look at every press leak with a little bit of skepticism and not assume that everything that reaches a journalist's ears is true.
All that said, it's not unthinkable the Bucs don't want to bring Ruud back. He isn't very stout against the run, although he's excellent dropping in coverage and getting the Bucs into the right defense. What do you think, Bucs Nation?