Bucs Re-Sign Hayward

August 01, 2011 at 11:18am by Scott   •  3 Comments »

The Bucs announced today that they have re-signed Adam Hayward to a three-year deal.

Hayward, who was a sixth-round draft pick out of Portland State in 2007, has made most of his impact on special teams during his time with the Bucs. Over the last four seasons, Hayward is always near the top of the list when it comes to special teams tackles.

In 2010, the 26-year-old Hayward led the Bucs in special teams tackles with 20, and he also had a fumble recovery as well. Hayward has 58 career special teams tackles in his four-year career.

Hayward was the special teams captain last year, not to mention the team’s Man of the Year, so it’s a good move to bring back a good locker room guy with high character on a team full of rookies and second-year guys. I initially thought that they waited until Barrett Ruud was definitely not coming back to make this move and let Hayward compete for a starting spot, but the more I think about it, I don’t think Hayward is going to have much of a shot to start. Tyrone McKenzie and Mason Foster seem to be the main competition for MLB and Quincy Black‘s contract practically guarantees that he’ll be given the starting SLB spot, at least in the beginning. And Hayward doesn’t seem ideally suited for WLB, so I’m guessing he’ll be the special teams captain and a versatile backup again. Good signing.