Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to New Orleans on Tuesday in anticipation of Hurricane Milton

With Hurricane Milton approaching the Florida Gulf Coast, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are heading to New Orleans earlier than expected. The Buccaneers are evacuating Tampa and will travel to New Orleans on Tuesday, where the team will stay in hotel rooms for the upcoming week, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

As of Monday morning, Milton has strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane, per the Associated Press. It is set to potentially make landfall on Wednesday.

With Tampa Bay set to play the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, the move will avoid attempting a flight on Saturday.

The strength of Hurricane Milton has prompted a state of emergency in 51 of Florida's 67 counties. In Tampa Bay, forecasters anticipate 8- to 12-foot storm surges and 5 to 10 inches of river flooding inland, per the AP. The storm is expected to bring about the biggest mass evacuation in Florida since Hurricane Irma in 2017.