NFL insider reveals state of Tom Brady's Buccaneers as Hurricane Ian barrels down on Tampa
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a home game this Sunday night as they host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 of the NFL. Due to Hurricane Ian touching down in Southern Florida and the Tampa area, the Buccaneers and Chiefs may be forced to play elsewhere as the hurricane is expected to cause catastrophic damage to much of the state of Florida.
Buccaneers Insider Rick Stroud spoke with NFL analyst Rich Eisen on The Rich Eisen Show and spoke about the Bucs' current situation regarding the hurricane.
Stroud said:
"I'm hunkering down Rich, maybe hunkering down. You know what you do when you have these hurricanes coming, you sit around, you eat a lot, I think. It is very serious. And, you know, we've been very lucky for about a hundred years to not have a direct hit or one very close to Tampa Bay. It would be devastating from what we know, this thing's going to pack a lot of rain. What the Bucs have done is kind of left us all behind."
Stroud added that the team is currently training in Miami at the Dolphins facility and practicing there while they've evacuated Tampa. He also said that the team is still hopeful of playing Sunday Night's game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay.
He added:
"They got on a plane and flying to South Florida. They're going to work out Wednesday and Thursday, at least at the Miami Dolphins facility. They're going to use their fields, their weight room, and and then we'll see, you know, we'll all see where the storm comes ashore and when I think the thought is Rich, you know, they're still very hopeful to play this game Sunday night at Raymond James."
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could host the Chiefs at U.S. Bank Stadium if they can't play in Tampa
While it sounds like the Buccaneers are optimistic about the game being held in Tampa on Sunday night, there's a realistic chance that they will be forced to play elsewhere due to the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
One possible location that the league is targeting is U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is home to the Vikings. The Vikings will be away in London, facing the New Orleans Saints at 9:30 AM ET, and will have their stadium free to use.
NFL says no change at this time to Bucs-Chiefs game scheduled for Sunday night in Tampa, but they'll continue to monitor. If game is to be moved away, it will be to Minnesota and US Bank Stadium, per our @KaplanSportsBiz, confirming what @JeffDarlington had originally reported.
No changes have been made as of now, but if they are made, the game will be played in Minneapolis.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Rick Stroud, The Rich Eisen Show, and H/T Sportskeeda