Important Dates of the 2019 NFL Offseason

Brett Harrell via Flickr

NFL

A Timeline of the 2019 NFL Season’s Important Dates, What They Mean, and Who They May Matter Most to

Does March 13th mean anything to you? Well, it’s about to.

Below are a summary and explanation of the key dates you need to know for the upcoming season. Several of these important dates hold significant meaning to specific front offices and players around the league.

February 12th (12 PM EST): CFL Players May Sign with NFL Teams

Players in the CFL (Canadian Football League) whose contracts have expired for the 2018 season, may sign with an NFL franchise. If a CFL player’s contract extends to 2019 or has an extension option, they are unable to sign with an NFL team at that time.

February 19th: Franchises are Able to Designate Franchise and Transition Tags

The 19th marks the first day that NFL clubs can designate franchise and transition players on their roster.

The Philadelphia Eagles could franchise tag unrestricted free agent, Nick Foles, to then trade him later on to receive some compensation for the Super Bowl MVP. The Houston Texans will likely slap the franchise tag on Jadeveon Clowney, one of the league’s prolific linebackers.

February 26th: Scouting Combine

Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis will host the NFL combine. Big name prospects like Kyle Murray and Josh Jacobs will be participating.

March 5th (4 PM EST): Deadline for Franchise and Transition Tag Designations

Teams have from February 19th to March 5th to hand out their respective franchise and transition tags to players on their roster as they see fit. Unrestricted free agents are no longer contractually bound to their previous teams, after 4 pm EST.

Dallas’ Cowboys defensive end, Demarcus Lawrence signed a franchise tag last season. While the Cowboys are expected to offer him a longterm deal, they’ll have until March 5th to franchise tag him again.

March 11th-13th: Teams May Contact Players’ Representative Who Will Become Unrestricted Free Agents

Starting on March 11th, teams may contact certain players to negotiate potential contractual agreements. Players must be on the verge of becoming unrestricted free agents.

The New Orleans Saints likely will not resign or tag running back, Mark Ingram. Ingram, who has accrued the seasons necessary, will become an unrestricted free agent once his contract lapses. Starting on March 11th, teams around the league will have the green light to contact Ingram’s agent to negotiate a potential contract.

March 13th (4 PM EST): Team Option Clause Deadline

If a player’s contract expires in 2018 but includes a team option for the 2019 season, the team must exercise this option by 4 pm on the 13th.

This year, Los Angeles Chargers’ defensive end, Joey Bosa, will find out if his team intends to exercise the 5th year option on his contract. LAC will need to exercise the option by the deadline, or, sign him to a new contract. If they don’t, Bosa will become a free agent.

March 13th (4 PM EST): Teams Must Submit Offers to Restricted Free Agents

Restricted free agents are players whose current contracts are expiring, but, have accrued fewer than the necessary seasons (four) to become an unrestricted free agent. Franchises retain the “Right of First Refusal/Compensation” if they submit a qualifying offer to their respective restricted free agents by 4 pm on March 13th.

Detriot Lions’ defensive end, Romeo Okwara will become an RFA. The Lions will need to decide if they wish to offer him a new contract, or let him walk. His 7.5 sack season has raised his price tag, and it’s unclear if Detroit can pay.

March 13th (4 PM EST): Top 51 Rule – Salary Cap

The projected 2019 NFL salary cap will be between $187-191.1 million according to the league office. The final salary cap number will be announced prior to March 13th. Teams are allowed to have up to 90 players signed during the offseason. However, only the top (most expensive) 51 contracts count towards that team’s salary cap.

March 13th (4 PM EST): Players’ Contracts Expire

All expiring contracts lapse when the clock strikes 4 pm in New York. Teams who did not meet the 4 pm deadline to submit their various offers forfeit any contractual rights over players.

March 13th (4 PM EST): The 2019 NFL Season Officially Begins

The 2019 season begins on March 13th at 4 pm and ends at midnight. Front offices of the 32 franchises receive a full briefing of any and all transactions that took place within the first day of the season.

March 13th (4 PM EST): Free Agency Begins

Open negotiations can begin since all expiring contracts have lapsed and qualifying offers have been submitted. While teams have been able to talk with UFA’s since March 11th, they are now able to sign them. For RFA’s, teams can submit contract offers, but, the RFA’s current team can match it.

Cole Beasley, wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, has an expiring contract. If Beasley and Dallas don’t work something out by 4 pm, he will be free to sign with another team.

March 13th (4 PM EST): Trading Period Begins

March 24th-27th: Annual League Meeting

This meeting will take place in Phoenix, Arizona where the league’s owners, general managers, and head coaches will be present. Debate and discussion will take place on various rules, as well as league stances and precedents. Coaches and team executives set time aside to speak with the media to discuss team matters.

Discussions on instant replay, the use of the helmet rule, and the number of minority coaches are probable agenda items. Any new decisions on the various issues discussed will be announced at the conclusion of the meetings.

April 1st: New Head Coaches May Hold Offseason Practices

Teams are permitted to host offseason workouts early if they hired a new head coach after the conclusion of the 2018 season. All other teams are allowed to begin workout programs, on April 15th.

April 19th: Deadline for Restricted Free Agents to Sign Offer Sheets

RFA’s must submit their offer sheet by April 19th. If it is a matched offer from their own team, they will simply sign said offer sheet. If multiple other teams offered them a contract without their original team matching, the RFA will choose which offer sheet to sign.

April 25th-27th: 2019 NFL Draft – Nashville, TN

May 3rd-6th: Rookie Minicamp

Teams who wish to can hold a three-day minicamp for newly drafted rookies. This can also take place on May 10th-13th.

May 7th: Deadline for “May 7th Tender” for Unrestricted Free Agents

Teams who wish to must send tenders to their unsigned UFA’s by May 7th. If a UFA hasn’t signed a contract by (whichever is later) July 22nd or the first day of training camp, he can negotiate and sign a player contract from July 22nd until Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, at 4 pm with his prior club.

May 20th-22nd: Spring League Meeting

Owners around the league meet to discuss various pertinent topics.

Last year, the league owners discussed player protests during the national anthem.

June 2nd: Deadline to Avoid Added Bonuses to Salary Cap

Defined by the NFL operations office, “For any player removed from the club’s roster or whose contract is assigned via waivers or trade on or after June 2, any unamortized signing bonus amounts for future years will be included fully in team salary at the start of the 2020 league year.”

June 3rd: Deadline for “June 1st Tender” for Restricted Free Agents

Similar to the “May 7th Tender”, this deadline applies to restricted free agents.

June 15th: Deadline for Teams to Withdraw Qualifying Offer to Restricted Free Agents

Deadline for franchises to withdraw qualifying offers to RFA’s while still maintaining their exclusive negotiating rights.

July 15th (4 PM EST): Deadline for Teams to Sign Franchise Players to a Multiyear-Contract or Extension

Deadline for teams that have franchised tagged a player to sign them to a multiyear contract or extension. After the 15th, the player is only allowed to sign a one-year contract, without mid-season extensions, with his prior club.

Mid-July: Preseason Training Camp Reporting

July 22nd: Signing Period Ends for Some Unrestricted Free Agents

This is the deadline for UFA’s who received a May 7th Tender. From this date until 4 pm the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, the team maintains exclusive negotiating rights.

The signing period for transition players with outstanding tenders also ends on this date. The same rights are afforded to their team as with the UFA’s described above.

August 6th: Deadline for Players to Report to Camp

All players under contract must report to camp by August 6th.

Second Week of August*: Four Week Preseason Schedule Begins

The preseason schedule will be released in April, however, preseason typically begins the second week of August.

August 31st (4 PM EST): 53 Man Roster Maximum Begins

Prior to this time, teams were able to have up to 90 members on their active rosters. At this point, only 53 players are allowed on the active roster while others can be placed on the PUP or IR lists.

September 1st: Waivers Open, Teams May Form Practice Squads

After teams make their final roster cuts on August 31st at 4 pm, several players enter the waivers. Starting on September 1st, teams may sign those players to their active rosters or their practice squads.

September 5th (12 AM EST): Top 51 Rule Expires

The total sum of all of a team’s contracts must be under the salary cap at this time.

September 5th-9th: Regular Season Week 1

The New England Patriots, as of now, will be hosting the NFL season opener at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on the first Thursday of September.

Photo Credit

Featured Image courtesy of Brett Harrell

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