The Buccaneers have signed 28-year old running back Derrick Ward to a 4-year, $17 million dollar contract ($6 million guaranteed).  Ward played in all 16 games for the Giants last season and he carried the ball 182 times for 1,025 yards (5.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 41 passes for 384 yards (9.4 avg) last season.  Look for Ward to share the load in the running game in 2009 for the Bucs with Ernest Graham which means the Bucs are going to have a power running game.  Ward has now played in 51 games in his NFL career and he has carrried the ball 342 times for 1,750 yards (5.1 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He has also caught 69 passes for 576 yards (8.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  In a pinch Ward could also help the Bucs returning kickoffs as he has done that 40 times in his NFL career resulting in 923 yards (23.1 avg) and a TD.  This was a great signing for the Buccaneers as Ward seems to have a lot of tread left on his tires.