The preseason finale for Washington and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will kickoff on Wednesday instead of Thursday due to a tropical depression headed toward Florida.
Washington vs. Buccaneers bumped up to Wednesday to avoid severe weather
With a tropical depression in the area, the Buccaneers will host a preseason finale on Wednesday instead of Thursday.
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“We have been in regular communication with administrators from the Tampa Sports Authority, Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa and the National Weather Service over the past day as it has become apparent that the most severe weather associated with Tropical Depression Nine will likely make landfall on Thursday,” Buccaneers Chief Operating Officer Brian Ford said in a statement on Monday night. “This decision was made by both teams in conjunction with the National Football League and local authorities in an effort to ensure the safety of our fans, players and stadium staff.”
There’s really no reason for the NFL or either of the teams to risk safety of anyone at the stadium in the preseason, particularly the last game. With rosters already trimmed to 75 players and another 22 cuts on the way to get down to the final limit of 53 players, the final game is used primarily to sort out the back half of the roster.
That means starters like Kirk Cousins and Jameis Winston, who combined for 48 passes and five touchdowns in the third week of the preseason, are unlikely to see the field anywhere near as much, if at all, in the preseason finale.
Earlier in August, the Hall of Fame Game was canceled altogether due to unsafe field conditions.
Tropical Depression Nine is in the Gulf of Mexico and, as of Tuesday morning, centered about 300 miles west of Key West, Fla. According to the Weather Channel, the National Hurricane Center expects the system to become a tropical storm later in the week and projects it to take a northeast path toward Florida on Thursday.
Aerial drones have measured the winds of the depression below tropical storm levels for now, so the sooner the preseason game can happen, the more likely the teams are to avoid the seemingly impending inclement weather.
Both Washington and Tampa Bay are 2-1 through the first three weeks of preseason:
How to Watch Washington vs. Buccaneers on Wednesday
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
TV: NFL Network (National), NBC 4 and CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), NBC 8 (Tampa Bay)
Announcers: Kenny Albert, Joe Theismann (Washington); Chris Myers, Ronde Barber (Tampa Bay)
Online Streaming: NFL Game Pass
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