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NFL reportedly has possible backup stadium for Chiefs-Bucs if Hurricane Ian is issue

Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady spent part of Monday preparing not for the Chiefs but for Hurricane Ian.

The National Weather Service said Tuesday that Hurricane Ian could cause a storm surge 9 feet above ground in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, along with winds that could reach 110 mph and rainfall of 10 inches to 15 inches. Isolated areas receiving as much as 20 inches of rain.

Tampa International Airport and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport will stop all commercial flights on Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Hurricane Ian could reach landfall near Tampa sometime Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

Ahead of a “Sunday Night Football” game against the Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium, Brady and the Buccaneers are moving practices to the Miami Dolphins facility, according to the Times’ Rick Stroud. They won’t be alone, as their families will be joining them.

Fox Sports’ Andy Slater reported the Dolphins have made Hard Rock Stadium available for the game. Miami plays the Bengals in Cincinnati on “Thursday Night Football.”

However, ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported the NFL is considering a site closer to Kansas City. He tweeted. “(I)f the game is moved, it is likely the Bucs and Chiefs would play at a neutral site in the Midwest — such as Minneapolis.”

Hurricane Ida forced the Packers-Saints game to be moved last year from New Orleans to Jacksonville, so the NFL moving a game is not unprecedented.

The reason the NFL would move the game to U.S. Bank Stadium rather than Kansas City: Arrowhead Stadium would give the Chiefs too much of an advantage. The Lions, Packers and Colts all play at home Sunday, so the only other Midwest location for the game to move would be Chicago’s Soldier Field (the Bears play at the Giants).

Brady discussed the potential impact of Hurricane Ian ahead of the Chiefs game on the SiriusXM podcast, “Let’s Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray”.

“Preparations for an NFL game are pretty intense. This is a little different for me. I’ve never had to deal with anything like this,” Brady said. “We had Covid for a couple years and now with this, seems like a pretty intense hurricane coming our way. I don’t think Tampa’s probably, I don’t think any place is very well suited for a hurricane to hit, but everyone in this area will be in our thoughts and prayers as we go through it.

“I know our team is going to have to adjust, go to Miami and practice there for the week, and then hopefully we can come back later in the week and play against the Chiefs Sunday night. So a lot of things can happen in a short period of time, and I think it’s suited for all of us to stay adaptable to the situation. I don’t think that anyone’s really prepared for this. I know I’ve been preparing all morning and getting all my stuff outside, try to put it inside, try to get all the stuff on the ground level up a little bit higher. I’m right here on the bay so they’re talking about pretty high storm surges and it’s a scary thing. I will say that, it’s a scary thing when it really hits your doorstep.”