Asking price key to Ruud-Bucs negotiations

Linebacker Barrett Ruud reiterated Wednesday his desire to continue playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and for the first time since the 2010 season ended, Tampa Bay expressed a desire to keep him.

Speaking at the Senior Bowl, Bucs general manager Mark Dominik strongly suggested the only thing standing in the way of Ruud's return is a contract acceptable to both parties.

Ruud is scheduled to be a free agent in March.

"Barrett had another good season for us,'' Dominik said. "He led our team in tackles again and he had more splash plays for us this year than he did the year before, which was good. Now we just have to sit down with his agent.

"(But) as these things always go, there's always two sides to it. Just because you say you want to sign him and because they say they want to be back, that doesn't mean that's how it's going to work out.''

Ruud has been asking for a new contract for more than two years. He even skipped some offseason workouts in an effort to force the issue in 2009. That's why he remains unsure of the outcome.

"I would love to be back,'' Ruud said Wednesday in a text message to The Tampa Tribune. "But there is a lot of uncertainty right now.''

One uncertainty is Ruud's asking price. Though he's never been to a Pro Bowl, Ruud is considered by some to be a Pro Bowl-caliber player. It's expected he'll ask for a contract representative of such.

Whether the Bucs are willing to pay that much is another uncertainty. Though Ruud has led the team in tackles each of the four seasons he's been the starting middle linebacker, Dominik said he has to consider several factors when negotiating deals.

"We have to look at each player individually and figure out what we're going to allocate for that position and for that player specifically,'' he said. "We (did) that last year with (left tackle) Donald Penn's extension, and were just going into that phase right now (with everyone else).''

Ruud publicly expressed displeasure with the Bucs' decision to ignore his contract wishes at the same time it rewarded Penn with a six-year, $48 million deal. Ruud, however, vowed not to let his feelings affect his play.

At the time, Dominik said he wanted to see Ruud "play some football'' before deciding whether to keep him as the quarterback of the defense going forward. It seems he was pleased with what he saw.

Dominik also suggested strongly on Wednesday he will try to re-sign starting left guard Davin Joseph, also scheduled to become a free agent.

"He's been a power player like we all know, with a big-framed body and he's a smart guy and a great teammate,'' Dominik said of Joseph. "All those things are taken into it. Davin had another solid year for us and that's really good. That's what we're looking for.''

Another Bucs free agent the team has said it wants back is cornerback Ronde Barber. Dominik said he has not begun contract negotiations with Barber's agent but plans to "as soon as we can.''

Coaching vacancies: Dominik said the team continues to search for a defensive line coach to replace Todd Wash and is hopeful a decision will be reached by the end of next week.

"It's an important hire,'' Dominik said. "That's why it's taking longer then maybe people wanted it to take. But we want to make sure we get it right.''

Dominik said the team might hire two coaches to work with the defensive line or one defensive line coach and another quality control coach to work with other aspects of the defense.

According to footballscoop.com, the team already filled one defensive quality control position by hiring former USC defensive assistant Tyrone Pettaway. Dominik would neither confirm nor deny the report.