Buccaneers tell NFL they will play at home in Week 4 despite Hurricane Ian
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers informed the NFL they will play at home in Week 4. The team released a statement Thursday, saying it will be ready to host the game despite Hurricane Ian making landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
The Buccaneers sent "thoughts and prayers" to those severely impacted by the storm. The team said Tampa Bay was spared major damage, allowing the team to still host the game at Raymond James Stadium.
A portion of the team statement read:
"We have informed the NFL, after consulting with local and state agencies, that we are ready to play Sunday night's game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium as originally scheduled."
The Buccaneers will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of Super Bowl LV.
There were reports Wednesday suggesting the NFL intended to keep the game in Florida. If it was deemed unsafe to play there, the league reportedly would have moved the contest to Minneapolis.
NFL's Jeff Miller says there is no change to status of SNF in Tampa. NFL continues to monitor the situation, if venue change is needed, it would be played in Minneapolis on Sunday night.
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) September 28, 2022
Head coach Todd Bowles prepared the Buccaneers for any situation in the lead-up to the contest.
Bowles said hopefully the game is in Tampa on Sunday, but they have to remain focused because "Nobody is going to feel sorry for us." #gobucs #nflnetwork
— Sara Walsh (@Sara_Walsh) September 28, 2022
The Buccaneers already experienced some changes as a result of the storm. The team is practicing in Miami to be farther away from Hurricane Ian.
Todd Bowles via zoom from Miami: "Our thoughts and hearts go out to everyone still in Tampa. What we do is really small entertainment for people that go through a lot of rough things and hopefully we can provider that." #gobucs #nflnetwork
— Sara Walsh (@Sara_Walsh) September 28, 2022
Bucs players and staff were told they could bring their pets and families to Miami in order to keep everyone safe.
Bowles says they made sure players, coaches, staff could bring family and pets with them so that everyone felt safe in the storm. #gobucs #nflnetwork
— Sara Walsh (@Sara_Walsh) September 28, 2022
Hurricane Ian was classified as a Category 4 storm when it made landfall in Florida on Wednesday. Roughly 2.5 million people were ordered to evacuate before the storm hit.
