TAMPA, Fla. -- In advance of Hurricane Milton, the Buccaneers are leaving the Tampa area early this week and heading to New Orleans on Tuesday, ahead of their Week 6 game at the Saints.
The team was able to secure the necessary hotel rooms in New Orleans to avoid another flight Saturday.
According to the National Hurricane Center's 8:05 a.m. advisory, Milton has rapidly strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph over the southern Gulf of Mexico. Its exact track is still to be determined, but Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, has begun issuing mandatory evacuations for Zones A and B and all manufactured/mobile homes.