Generous donation as team hopes to resume normal practices Wednesday.

As we all learned the past couple of days, while we kneel and worship at the altar of the almighty football gods, being in one piece and having a roof over our heads — not to mention, air conditioning — does have a slightly higher place on the food chain of life.

But damn, didn’t we need football to give us a mental break this weekend.

And it is in that line of thinking — safety first — that the Bucs are immediately focusing not so much on the Bears (they are preparing for the Bears, no doubt), but getting all their players back in one piece today.

The Bucs hope to resume a normal practice schedule on Wednesday. To do that, they’d like to have the entire team available. So the Bucs are scrambling, working with various players who evacuated to organize a way for them to get back in Tampa today. Safely.

The Bucs also plan to return to town players and employees and their families today, the ones the team relocated to North Carolina last week to dodge Hurricane Irma.

Many players scattered across the nation last week to avoid Hurricane Irma’s wrath and to take advantage of the unexpected bye week. Problem was, many Bucs players booked return flights for Monday. Why was that a problem? Tampa International Airport was closed Monday because Hurricane Irma was still ravaging the area in the wee hours of Monday morning. It is expected to re-open today.

But not all airlines will have service today. For example, Southwest Airlines is not expected to resume service to Tampa International Airport until Wednesday.

Because the airport is expected to open today, Joe has learned Tuesday the team is fully focused on helping players get back into town in one piece. Joe noticed on social media last night the traffic southbound on I-75 in north Florida is jam-packed just like it was northbound last week. All the folks who drove to escape Florida are now trying to get back in.

Joe wouldn’t be surprised if Bucs players are in that massive traffic jam or are about to join the fray.

So clearly, Hurricane Irma and how it has affected the team and the community is foremost in the minds of the Bucs. Just yesterday, the Bucs announced that Team Glazer graciously donated $1 million to the Red Cross to aid residents of Florida in the recovery process left in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

At least from a Bucs perspective, after today, Hurricane Irma will take a backseat to football, if all the players and employees can return to town safely.

And if the Bucs plan to resume a normal practice schedule in Tampa tomorrow, it stands to reason the team believes the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway may be ready to host the Bears-Bucs game as well, though no official word has been given, though Albert Breer of theMMQB.com reports the stadium weathered Irma just fine.