Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians. Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Buccaneers postpone Bruce Arians' Ring of Honor induction with Hurricane Ian looming

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 9/27/22

Tuesday may have given NFL fans the first real sign that the upcoming "Sunday Night Football" game between the 2-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 2-1 Kansas City Chiefs will not take place in Florida, as scheduled, due to the threat of Hurricane Ian.

Per Scott Smith of the Buccaneers' website, the club has confirmed it has postponed the planned induction of former head coach and current consultant Bruce Arians into the club's Ring of Honor at Raymond James Stadium due to worries related to Hurricane Ian. A Friday reception for Arians and the halftime ceremony related to the induction originally set to occur this Sunday will be moved down the road for a different home game later this season.

It was learned on Monday that the Buccaneers will temporarily practice at the Miami Dolphins' facility during the midweek beginning on Wednesday with Ian looming. The Dolphins play at the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night.

Jeff Darlington of ESPN reported Monday evening that the NFL could move the Buccaneers-Chiefs matchup to a neutral site in the Midwest such as Minneapolis because of the storm, and Darlington offered an update on the situation on Tuesday afternoon:

NFL continues to monitor storm’s path. For those unfamiliar with Tampa Bay, the scary part is, a hurricane that hits just north of the bay can mean devastating storm surge. Hurricane that hits just south (current projection) could mean less surge. So much still unknown. https://t.co/yxVZ5ZLImu
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) September 27, 2022

The Minnesota Vikings are facing the New Orleans Saints in London this Sunday.

Including postseason play, Arians notched a 36-19 record during his Buccaneers tenure and guided the club to its Super Bowl LV win over the Chiefs in February 2021. He surprisingly stepped down as Tampa Bay head coach this past March, in part so that then-defensive coordinator Todd Bowles could be promoted as the new head man in charge.

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