NFL offseason dates: OTAs, minicamps and more

The NFL season is beginning on April 3 for the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals, who are getting to work before the rest of the league.

All 32 teams have announced their offseason schedules, and the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals aren’t waiting around. The league allows teams with new head coaches to start their offseason training earlier, and two original NFL franchises are taking advantage, getting things going on April 3.

Every other team will start on April 16, save for the Tennessee Titans, Oakland Raiders, New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions, who will begin on April 9. All five of those teams also have new head coaches as well.

All of the teams being led by new men on the sidelines will have their mandatory minicamps from June 5-7, while the other franchises will hold theirs June 12-14.

For the majority of these programs, attendance is not required per the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The only time a player must attend is the mandatory minicamps outlined above, and should the player skip for any reason, they are subject to a fine.

Additionally, none of the OTAs or minicamps are permitted to have contact. The offseason is broken down into three phases prior to training camp in late July, and they are as follows:

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Phase I – Two weeks without any on-field drills. Meant strictly for rehabilitation and conditioning purposes.

Phase II – The field can be brought into play, but there are not any team drills permitted. This is all about individual drills for a three-week period.

Phase III – This is the final four weeks of the program, which allows for coaches to put their team drills into play. The individual drills can continue as well, although absolutely no contact is permitted.