In advance of Hurricane Milton's expected landfall in Florida, the Buccaneers departed Tampa on Tuesday morning and relocated operations to New Orleans for the remainder of the week leading up to Sunday's Week Six matchup with the Saints. The Buccaneers conducted practice at Tulane University on Wednesday for a glimpse at normalcy. Tampa Bay worked their morning practice around the Green Wave Football Team.
"I think overall, everything went smoothly," stated Head Coach Todd Bowles. "We got the team out, we got their families out, we got their pets out and everything else. Family is the most important thing right now. You can replace material things, and you want everybody to be okay and you hope everybody evacuated – if not, [you hope they're] hunkered down safely. Family is the most important thing. If you can get your family out and keep them safe, everything else can be replaced."
On Wednesday, Milton approaches the Coast of West-Central Florida per the National Hurricane Center. Life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rains are expected across portions of central and southwestern Florida. The Buccaneers underwent a change of scenery this week to N.O., building a new regimen in preparation for their divisional foe on Sunday.
"With the support of the Glazer family, we were able to relocate here, which is huge," said Quarterback Baker Mayfield. "Obviously, they provided travel for the team and family members and pets, as well, so that's big time, just to be able to shift the focus there – safety first – and then go on. So yeah, short memory when it comes to the Atlanta game. Obviously, [we] had to watch the tape Monday, correct the things we needed to and move forward… For our guys, you get into a routine as the season starts and you understand your bodywork, what you have to do rehab-wise after a game, get into a routine at home when you are practicing and just that schedule that you normally have and having to adjust on the fly. That's the biggest difference for us, but we just have to deal with it. There's no way around it, so just find a way to make it work, and this is a group that is capable of doing that."
