Bucs keeping one eye on the Saints, the other on Milton

TAMPA, Fla. — It was tough knowing how hard the wind blew and the waters rose near their homes in Tampa Bay.

As Hurricane Milton approached the west coast of Florida Wednesday afternoon, Bucs players and coaches practiced at Tulane University, held their normal meetings and then rejoined their wives, girlfriends, children and pets at the team hotel in New Orleans.

The Bucs evacuated Tuesday to prepare for Sunday’s game against the Saints.

Still more members of the organization and their families were able to relocate to the more than 200 hotel rooms the organization secured in Gainesville and Orlando in the hopes of escaping the storm.

They tried to keep the schedule as normal as possible, but it was far from routine.

“A lot of prayer,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “It’s out of our control. I mean, you can do whatever you need to, to try and prep your house or your home, wherever you’re at. Other than that, there’s nothing you really can do. This thing is coming for Florida, and it’s just safety first and getting everybody out and hopefully everybody listens to the mandatory evacuation.

“So, compartmentalizing one step at a time of the preparation part when it comes to the storm. And then, you know, once we’re out of there, realizing this could be the sort of Sunday to give the people of Florida and especially in our area some hope, something to look forward to watching.”

Mayfield understood it could be many days or even weeks before some can return to their homes or have electricity restored, much less get to watch their hometown NFL team.

“Not expecting anybody really to have power,” he said. “But finding out in the days later.”

It takes a Herculean effort to move a franchise in only a few days. Senior operations director Tim Jarocki and senior operations coordinator Zach Orth secured hotel rooms in three cities. The first option for the Bucs was Houston. But they decided to travel straight to New Orleans to avoid a second day of travel before the game.

“They’ve been huge,” head coach Todd Bowles said. “... Tim has been on the phone with hotels in every state, trying to make sure not only the team is OK but the families are OK and making sure the pets are OK and getting the different travel destinations. I don’t know if he’s been asleep in the past 36 hours or even more so, but he’s been a world-beater.

“Zach has been a world-beater, and there’s a lot of other people that work with them that have been unbelievable and phenomenal in getting us everything. Not just situated, but practicing the normal way and getting means for everybody’s family and understanding what’s at hand. They make it (go) seamlessly and effortlessly, and they don’t get mentioned, but they’re really the kings of this whole thing.”

The Bucs practiced Wednesday at Tulane’s football facility and held meetings in hotel ballrooms.

“I think, overall, everything went smoothly,” Bowles said. “We got the team out, we got their families out, we got their pets out and everything else. You now, family is the most important thing right now. You can replace material things, and you want everybody to be OK and you hope everybody evacuated if not hunkered down safely.”

Receiver Mike Evans and defensive back Zyon McCollum are no strangers to hurricanes. Not only have they endured storms in Tampa Bay, but also in their hometown of Galveston, Texas.

“It’s always unfortunate when a national disaster like hurricanes hit,” Evans said. “I just tell the guys (to) make sure that their family is safe. And then just do all the little things you can do around your house to make sure your house comes out as good as possible, you know, like putting your clothes up, your valuable items up, bringing those with you, as well, to try to minimize the loss.

“But it’s definitely unfortunate. I’m praying for everybody that’s going through this. It’s tough. It’s not fun.”

Mayfield has always said the Bucs are a resilient team. Certainly, that was the case a year ago when they started 3-1, then lost six of the next seven games before rallying to win the NFC South with a 9-8 record.

He was asked about the team’s biggest challenge this week.

“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,” Mayfield said. “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.”

After Milton has exited Tampa Bay, the Bucs will have to endure the calamitous aftermath. Bowles said they are preparing to keep their operations away from the area if that becomes necessary, but for now the plan is to return after Sunday’s game.

Despite so many bigger concerns, the Bucs have to find a way to win a very important football game against a division rival in New Orleans.

“We obviously have a job to do, and we’re going to do that,” Mayfield said. “The games are still going to be played. But that’s the hardest things, just making sure that everybody is good and just praying and hoping for the best.”