Durkin: 2016 NFL Offseason Key Dates
By Dan Durkin--
(CBS) Even before the Denver Broncos could celebrate their Super Bowl 50 win with their fans, the rest of the NFL was already making moves with eyes toward the 2016 season.
It's Year 2 of the Bears' reboot, as general manager Ryan Pace faces some big decisions. Here's the timeline for what lies ahead this offseason, with all the key dates.
(All times are in Central Time)
February 13
-- NFL Regional Combine takes place at Houston Texans' Methodist Training Facility in Houston, Texas.
February 16
-- First day for clubs to designate franchise or transition players.
February 20
-- NFL Regional Combine takes place at Arizona Cardinals' Training Facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
February 23-29
-- NFL Scouting Combine takes place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
February 27
-- NFL Regional Combine takes place at Baltimore Ravens' Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Maryland.
March 1
-- It's a 3 p.m. deadline for clubs to designate franchise or transition players.
March 5
-- NFL Regional Combine takes place at Minnesota Vikings' Training Facility at Max Winter Park in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
March 7-9
-- Clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2015 player contracts at 3 p.m. on March 9. However, a contract can't be executed with a new club until 3 p.m. on March 9.
March 9
-- Prior to 3 p.m., clubs must exercise options for 2016 on all players who have option clauses in their 2015 contracts.
-- Prior to 3 p.m., clubs must submit qualifying offers to their restricted free agents with expiring contracts and to whom they desire to retain a right of first refusal/compensation.
-- Prior to 3 p.m., clubs must submit a minimum salary tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2015 contracts and who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agency credit.
-- Top-51 begins, whereby the offseason salary cap only accounts for the club's top-51 salaries.
-- All clubs must be under the 2016 salary cap prior to 3 p.m.
-- All 2015 player contracts expire at 3 p.m.
-- The 2016 league year and free agency period begins at 3 p.m.
-- Trading period for 2016 begins at 3 p.m. after expiration of all 2015 contracts.
March 12
-- NFL Regional Combine takes place at New Orleans Saints' Training Facility in Metairie, Louisiana.
March 20-23
-- NFL annual meeting in Boca Raton, Florida.
April 4
-- Clubs that hired a new head coach after the end of the 2015 regular season may begin offseason workout programs.
April 18
-- Clubs with returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programs.
April 22
-- Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets.
April 28-30
-- 2016 NFL Draft takes place in Chicago, Illinois.
April 30
-- After the final selection in the draft has been made, clubs may begin signing undrafted free agents who were eligible for the 2016 draft.
May 6-9
-- First weekend after the NFL Draft: Clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday.
May 9
-- Rookie football development program begins.
May 13-16
-- Second weekend after the NFL Draft: Clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday.
May 19-22
-- NFLPA Rookie Premiere -- invited rookies (typically, first and/or second-round selections) must be permitted by their respective clubs to attend. Such players are unavailable for offseason workouts, OTA days and minicamps during this period.
May 23-25
-- NFL spring league meeting takes place in Charlotte, North Carolina.
June 1
-- Deadline for prior club to send "June 1 tender" to its unsigned restricted free agents who received a qualifying offer for a right of first refusal only in order for such player to be subject to the CBA's "June 15 tender" provision.
June 2
-- 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 2017 league year.
June 15
-- Deadline for club to withdraw qualifying offer to restricted free agents and still retain exclusive negotiating rights by substituting "June 15 tender" of one-year contract at 110 percent of the player's prior-year Paragraph 5 salary (with all other terms of his prior-year contract carried forward unchanged).
June 19-25
-- Rookie Symposium takes place in Aurora, Ohio.
July 15
-- At 3 p.m., it's the deadline for any club that designated a franchise player to sign such player to a multi-year contract or extension. After this date, the player may sign only a one-year contract with his prior club for the 2016 season, and such a contract can't be extended until after the club's last regular-season game.
Mid-July
-- Clubs are permitted to open preseason training camp for rookies and first-year players beginning seven days prior to the club's earliest permissible mandatory reporting date for veteran players.
-- Veteran players (defined as a player with at least one pension-credited season) other than quarterbacks or "injured players" (as defined in CBA Article 21, Section 6) may report to a club's preseason training camp no earlier than 15 days prior to the club's first scheduled preseason game or July 15, whichever is later.
-- Veteran quarterbacks and injured players may be required to report to the club's preseason training camp no earlier than five days immediately prior to the mandatory reporting date for all other veteran players, provided the club has already opened (or simultaneously opens) its official preseason training camp for all rookies and first-year players.
-- A three-day acclimation period will apply to players who are on a club's roster up to and including the mandatory veteran reporting date. Players who join the roster after that date may practice (including wearing pads) and play immediately after passing a physical.
July 22*
-- Signing period ends for unrestricted free agents to whom a "May 10 tender" was made by prior club. After this date and until 3 p.m. on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, prior club has exclusive negotiating rights.
* or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later
July 22
-- Signing period ends for transition players with outstanding tenders. After this date and until 3 p.m. on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, prior club has exclusive negotiating rights.
Dan Durkin covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @djdurkin.
