The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have plenty of challenges during the 2026 season, but spending excessive time on airplanes should not be one of them. According to travel figures shared by FOX Sports, Tampa Bay is projected to travel just 12,185 miles during the regular season, the fourth-lowest total in the NFL. Only the Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers
are scheduled to travel fewer miles.The San Francisco 49ers lead the NFL at 38,105 projected miles as they travel to Australia in week one, while the Los Angeles Rams are second at 34,847. The league average is roughly 19,652 miles, putting Tampa Bay more than 7,000 miles below that mark. Part of that comes from the way the Bucs' road schedule is laid out. Tampa Bay will travel to Cincinnati,
Dallas, Carolina, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Atlanta and New Orleans this season. None of those trips require the Bucs to travel to the West Coast or overseas. Their longest trip is expected to be Chicago, at just over 2,000 miles round trip, followed by trips to Detroit and Dallas. Meanwhile, divisional road games against Atlanta, Carolina and New Orleans keep several trips relatively close to home.
Carolina has the lightest travel schedule in the league at 8,740 miles, but New Orleans sits much higher at 21,892, largely due to their international game in Paris. Atlanta is projected at 17,431 miles, giving the Buccaneers the second lightest travel load in the division. Travel mileage certainly does not determine how a season will play out, but over 17 games, small advantages can matter. Long flights, time zone changes, and unusual road stretches can add another layer of fatigue, especially late in the season. Over the years, travel days have brought up jet lag, poor sleep, and cramping, adding an unexpected layer of in-season adversity.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs rank near bottom of nfl for travel miles in 2026
