Sources: Buccaneers to leave Tampa early ahead of Hurricane Milton

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, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

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 miles per hour over the southern Gulf of Mexico. Its exact trek 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.

Its center could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area.

"We are preparing for the highest evacuations we have ever seen, most likely since 2017," Kevin Guthrie, the Director of Emergency Management, said in a news conference. Forecasters have warned of a possible 8- to 12-foot storm surge in Tampa.

The area has already seen damage from Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida's Big Bend area as a Category 4 hurricane Sept. 26, with the storm's sheer size impacting much of the state.

The last time the team evacuated the area for a major hurricane was in 2022, where they headed to Miami before Hurricane Ian. They also did so in advance of Hurricane Irma in 2017, chartering four planes to Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.