The NFL Draft in April starts getting fans excited for football, as mini-camps aren’t too far on the horizon. But the draft also signals another arrival and reminder, as schedules start being announced.

On Monday, the reality of another upcoming football season is right around the corner, came when the NFL released the preseason schedule.

The Buccaneers will open on the road agains the Bengals and follow that game up with a gam at Jacksonville before returning home with two games against the Browns and Redskins. 

Week 1 (August 10-14)                                    at Cincinnati                                           WFLA

Thursday, August 17 – 8 p.m.                          at Jacksonville                                        ESPN

Week 3 (August 24-27)                                    CLEVELAND                                          WFLA

Week 4 (August 31-September 1)                    WASHINGTON                                      WFLA

While hasn’t been officially announced, look for the Bucs and Jags to hold another round of joint practices prior to their August 17 matchup.

During the NFL owners meeting last month, Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter talked about that possibility.

“We’re only going to do one this year,” said Koetter to Buccaneers.com. “I like joint practices a lot, but we felt like [one was enough]. Right after we finished the second one last year I sent out a survey to all the coaches and I talked to a lot of the players and we just felt like two was maybe a little bit too much.

“In a perfect world, we would be doing one the second week, before the second preseason game,” said Koetter. “We just need to get the approval from the league when the schedule comes out. We would be working with somebody in Week Two. We do have a team in mind, we have a team that has agreed to do it.”

From the Buccaneers communications department:

The National Football League today released its 2017 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.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open preseason play on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 (August 10-14). It will be the 14^th preseason meeting between the clubs, the fourth-most in Tampa Bay franchise history. The Buccaneers have won nine of those contests, including two of three on the road. The trip will mark Tampa Bay’s first visit to Paul Brown Stadium since a regular season matchup in 2010. The two teams have not played a preseason game in Cincinnati since 1995.

For the second consecutive year, the Buccaneers will visit Jacksonville in Week 2, in a game that will be broadcast live on ESPN on Thursday, August 17, at 8 p.m. ET. The Buccaneers defeated the Jaguars in last year’s preseason meeting, 27-21.

The Buccaneers will return to Raymond James Stadium in Week 3 (August 24-27), where they will take on the Cleveland Browns for the second consecutive preseason. Tampa Bay won the 2016 contest, 30-13, to take a 5-4 preseason series lead between the two clubs.

Tampa Bay will close the preseason in Week 4 (August 31-September 1) at home against the Washington Redskins. It will mark the fifth time in six years the two teams square off in the preseason finale, with 2015 being the lone exception. The contest will be the 15^th preseason meeting between the two clubs, making Washington the Buccaneers’ third-most frequent opponent, trailing only Miami (30) and Atlanta (16).

The Buccaneers’ Weeks 1, 3 and 4 games will once again be carried locally by WFLA and in the Orlando market by WOFL.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now offering season pass memberships at a wide variety of price points. Memberships start as low as $45 per game for adults and $22.50 per game for youth. For more information or to speak with a Buccaneers account representative, please contact 866-582-BUCS (2827) or visit Buccaneers.com.