TAMPA, Fla. -- The NFL is monitoring Hurricane Irma's activity in the southeast Atlantic and exploring the possibility of moving the season opener between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins because of it.
There is the possibility of the game moving to Thursday or Friday or to another site, according to a report from The Associated Press. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET Sunday at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
The NFL held a conference call Tuesday morning to try to determine whether to play or postpone the game, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter, but no decision has yet been made.
The storm had strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane as of Tuesday morning. The National Hurricane Center had issued an advisory late Monday morning, saying that the chances of Irma affecting parts of Florida this weekend, possibly as early as Friday, are increasing.
On Monday afternoon, Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for Florida in anticipation of the storm. An early declaration of emergency is not unusual, as it gives local governments additional time and resources to prepare for the storm.
"In Florida, we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best," Scott said in a statement. "And while the exact path of Irma is not absolutely known at this time, we cannot afford to not be prepared. This state of emergency allows our emergency management officials to act swiftly ... without the burden of bureaucracy or red tape."
A source close to the situation told ESPN on Monday that "It's too early to tell you whether the game will be moved or not."
Aside from Monday being an extra practice day, things were business as usual for both the Bucs and Dolphins, with the coaches trying to minimize distractions as much as possible, even with the threat of a weeknight game on the road.
"I don't know what they're gonna do," Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter said. "I just got through giving the players a big speech about 'controlling what you can control and don't worry about the rest.' I have no control over those."
Added Dolphins coach Adam Gase: "Really, that's kind of out of my hands right now. I'm kind of going along with the advisement. When those things come up we'll be ready to go. We always kind of have an idea of what we can do at this point and what we can't do. But things like that are definitely out of our control."
The Dolphins are trying to reach the postseason for the first time in back-to-back years since 2000-01, and they will be doing it with a new quarterback in Jay Cutler. The Bucs are coming off a 9-7 season, just narrowly missing the playoffs in 2016.
Both teams share a bye week in November. Neither team is in favor of playing in Week 11, with Koetter showing strong resistance.
"What do you think? Nobody wants that," said Koetter. "No one wants to play 16 straight [games]. They're not asking my opinion, but I'm sure they realize that."
Said Gase: "If they tell us that they changed the game, we'll just go with it."
Koetter hopes to have more information for his players during Wednesday's team meeting. The Bucs have Monday afternoon off, as well as Tuesday. He hopes that if changes are made by the league that they are done with the players and their families in mind -- and with regard to what happened with Hurricane Harvey.
"These guys all have families. They all have people they care about," Koetter said. "To think that those guys are just going to hop on a plane if there's some kind of danger to their families and not be bothered by it, that would be foolish to think that way."
ESPN's Dan Graziano and James Walker contributed to this report.