It's now pretty clear that Hurricane Ian is going to hit somewhere between Tampa and Fort Myers, Fla. — potentially as a Category 4 storm — around Wednesday afternoon. A few college football programs have already decided to shift their weekend games because of Ian, and it's possible that a potential Super Bowl 57 preview (and rematch of Super Bowl 55) between Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs and Tom Brady and the Buccaneers will need to be moved away from Tampa. Kansas City is currently -2 at Caes ars Sportsbook.
The Buccaneers left Tampa today and will practice at the Miami Dolphins' Baptist Health Training Complex in Miami Gardens through the end of the week if necessary. The team has invited the players' and coaches' families as well. The Dolphins don't need their facility because they play in Cincinnati on Thursday night.
In the event the Bucs are unable to host the game, the NFL is unlikely to use Miami as the game site because the league does not want to risk taking up state resources. The National Weather Service is reporting that Hurricane Ian could cause a storm surge 9-12 feet above ground in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. I lived in that area for years and it has been incredibly lucky to avoid a direct hurricane strike thus far, as it is quite ill-suited to take one.
The league isn't about to move the game to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City to give the Chiefs a huge advantage, but ESPN's Jeff Darlington reported th e NFL is considering a site somewhat near Kansas City in the Midwest — Minneapolis. The only other real option would be Soldier Field in Chicago because the Bears are on the road and Lions, Packers and Colts all play at home Sunday. Hurricane Ida forced the Packers-Saints game to be moved last year from New Orleans to Jacksonville.