Preseason opponents have been announced

The National Football League today released its 2018 preseason slate, announcing the matchups that will take place each week, with exact game dates and times to be confirmed after the finalization of the national broadcast schedule.

For the fifth consecutive season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open preseason play on the road, this year facing the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 1 (August 9-13). The Dolphins are the Buccaneers’ most-commonly-played preseason opponent, with the two teams having faced each other 30 times, including 16 consecutive seasons from 2000-2015. While Miami leads the all-time preseason series 13-17, Tampa Bay has won four of the past five.

After facing the Dolphins, the Buccaneers will travel to Nashville where they’ll have joint practices and take on the Tennessee Titans in Week 2 (August 16-20). This is the first preseason matchup between Tampa Bay and Tennessee since 2012 and the first in Nashville since 2009. This will mark the 10th-ever preseason contest between the two franchises. The Buccaneers have won six-of-nine thus far in the preseason series.

On Friday, August 24, at 8:00 p.m. ET, the Buccaneers will play their preseason home opener, taking on the Detroit Lions in a primetime matchup featured on CBS. The two teams have never faced each other in the preseason.

Tampa Bay closes out the preseason with a home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4 (August 30-31). The Buccaneers and Jaguars have faced off in Jacksonville in each of the last two seasons. This will be Jacksonville’s first preseason game at Raymond James Stadium since 2010.

2018 PRESEASON SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT TIME

Week 1 (August 9-13) at Miami TBD

Week 2 (August 16-20) at Tennessee TBD

Week 3 (Friday, August 24) DETROIT 8:00 p.m. ET

Week 4 (August 30-31) JACKSONVILLE TBD

This report comes courtesy of the Buccaneers Communications Department.