The Tampa Bay Buccaneers already know their 2022 schedule will feature marquee matchups, legendary quarterback battles, playoff rematches and a couple of very long trips. What they don't yet know, but soon will, is the dates and times that these exciting events will take place.
Clarity will arrive on Thursday, May 12, when the NFL releases its full 2022 regular-season schedule. The league will make the announcement on the Schedule Release '22 show, which will begin at 8:00 p.m. ET on the NFL Network. The schedule will also be available at that time on NFL.com and the NFL app, and Tampa Bay's full schedule will be released at the same time on Buccaneers.com. Each team will also be permitted to announce its first home game opponent a bit early, at 6:00 p.m. ET.
The Buccaneers will actually find out the date and time of at least one of their games before that Thursday evening show. A handful of dates will be announced in the days leading up to the full release, including all of the contests in the International Series, which will be released on Wednesday, May 4.
Perhaps the most anticipated date for the Buccaneers is the one attached to their groundbreaking game in Munich. The Bucs also do not yet know what opponent will be joining them for the first NFL game ever played in Germany. Since that contest will count as a home game for Tampa Bay, the opponent will come from that half of their schedule, which includes the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs and both of the teams that squared off in Super Bowl LVI in February, the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals.
The NFL also plans to announce the details of its Week Two Thursday Night Football game on Prime Video during the first round of the draft on April 28. Other select games will be revealed during the Week of May 9.
The Buccaneers finished the 2021 regular season with a 13-4 record that tied for the league's best before advancing to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, but their 2022 season promises to be both challenging and exciting. In addition to the Chiefs, Rams and Bengals the Bucs also must take on five other 2021 playoff teams in the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals, San Franisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. They will play all four teams that were featured in the two conference championship games, with the Rams, Chiefs and Bengals at home and the 49ers on the road.
There's an equally daunting list of the league's best quarterbacks on tap for Tampa Bay in 2022. Matthew Stafford, Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson will all be coming to Raymond James Stadium (or possibly FC Bayern Munich Stadium), while the Bucs will have road challenges against Kyler Murray, DeShaun Watson and Dak Prescott.
Of course, all of those outstanding quarterbacks will have to outplay Tom Brady, the ageless Buccaneers quarterback who led the NFL in passing yards and touchdown passes in 2021. Brady's decision to return for the upcoming season, revealed 40 days after he initially suggested he would retire, means the Buccaneers will remain one of the NFL's most explosive teams and one of its biggest draws. In the two seasons that Brady has played in red and pewter, Tampa Bay has been given the maximum number of five prime-time games.
Will Brady and the Bucs play under the lights five more times in 2022? There's certainly a strong chance. Exactly when those games and the 12 others on Tampa Bay's schedule will fall remains unknown…but not for long.
Join the Season Pass Priority List today! We have an incredible 2022 home schedule*, including matchups against the Super Bowl Champion Rams, AFC Champion Bengals, Packers, Seahawks, Ravens, NFC South rivals and Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs coming to Raymond James Stadium for a Super Bowl LV rematch. *One game to be played in Munich, Germany as part of the NFL international series.
