The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who moved their football operations to South Florida to avoid Hurricane Ian, remain hopeful of being able to return home to play the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.
The team practiced at the Miami Dolphins鈥� training facility on Wednesday, describing the experience as different, but insisting the disruption to their routine will not hinder their ability to prepare for the team they beat in the Super Bowl two seasons ago.
Family members, and even some pets, accompanied players and coaches in relocating ahead of the storm making landfall on Florida鈥檚 west coast.
鈥淭he biggest challenge, I think we鈥檝e already cleared, is just keeping their families safe. Everyone鈥檚 loved ones are safe, and that鈥檚 No. 1. Houses, and the monetary things, you don鈥檛 really worry about. If the family鈥檚 safe, you can kind of concentrate on football,鈥� coach Todd Bowles said.
鈥淲hat we do is really small entertainment for people who go through a lot of rough things, and hopefully we can provide that,鈥� Bowles added via a Zoom call from the Dolphins鈥� complex in Miami Gardens. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 bigger than just a football team.鈥�
NFL executive Jeff Miller said Wednesday that the game was still scheduled to be played in Tampa on Sunday night.
If the teams can鈥檛 play at Raymond James Stadium 鈥� a decision that could be made as late as Friday 鈥� the much-anticipated matchup between quarterbacks Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes will be moved to Minneapolis.
This is not the first time the Bucs have evacuated players and families with a hurricane approaching.
Hurricane Irma forced postponement of a Week 1 matchup against the Dolphins in 2017, when the Bucs flew some players and their families to Charlotte, North Carolina, to wait out the storm.
Others chose to drive to destinations in north Florida, Alabama and Georgia, while the NFL rescheduled the game to a bye date shared by the Bucs and Dolphins.
鈥淓verybody that wanted to come could come, familywise and otherwise, including pets,鈥� Bowles said, adding the club initially explored the prospect of moving practice to West Virginia.
鈥淏ut I think people still would have been away from their families. Even though the families could have come there, it would have been a little further away as far as hotels are situated,鈥� Bowles said. 鈥淢iami came up, and it looked like it wasn鈥檛 going to get hit as hard. ... It was an easier trip, and people who had pets and everything else, and older grandparents that were with them, could drive down to be closer to their families.鈥�
One player 鈥� linebacker Devin White 鈥� was not able to take his animals to South Florida with him. He has a stable or horses and is an avid rider.
鈥淚 think my barn is more expensive than my house,鈥� White said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been watching the cameras, and I have somebody working at the barn that stayed behind. So hopefully, everybody there is safe and we can get past it.鈥�
Bowles said the thoughts of players and coaches also were with the community they left behind.
鈥淥ur thoughts are with the city of Tampa right now. Where we have to play 鈥� hopefully it is Tampa and everything is fine. That means we鈥檙e not damaged too much,鈥� Bowles said. 鈥淚f we have to go play elsewhere, we just have to focus and lock in. No one鈥檚 going to feel sorry for us. We鈥檝e got to be ready to play.鈥�
