Counting Down the days to key 2019 dates for the Pittsburgh Steelers

Let the countdown begin!

The 2018 NFL offseason has now officially been going for several weeks. Unfortunately, this means we now have no meaningful football to look forward to for more than half a year. With various off-season events sprinkled over the next several months, we can officially count down the number of days to key off-season dates.

0 days: Scouting Combine

The NFL scouting combine begins on February 26, 2019 in Indianapolis. It runs for a week until March 4.

7 days: Franchise/Transition Tag Deadline

Beginning on February 19, 2019 teams were able to designate a player with the franchise or transition tag. Teams have two weeks (until 4 PM on March 5, 2019) until the deadline for designation.

13 days: Free Agent Negotiation

For the three days leading up to when free agency officially begins, teams may begin negotiating with players and agents for free-agent signings on March 11, 2019.

15 days: Free Agency

At 4 PM on March 13, 2019, teams may officially sign free-agent players to contracts for the upcoming season. This is also the deadline for teams to exercise options on players, submit restricted free agent and exclusive rights tenders, and for teams to be under the 2019 salary cap. Teams may also trade players once the 4 PM deadline has passed.

48 days: Offseason Workouts

April 15, 2019 is the first day teams with returning head coaches can begin their offseason workout program.

~52 days: NFL Schedule Release

It isn’t usually announced until just before it occurs, but the general release date for the NFL schedule is about a week before the draft.

58 days: NFL Draft

The 2019 NFL draft will be held in Nashville, Tennessee beginning on April 25.

139 days: Franchise Tag Signing

Any player who was designated with a franchise tag must have a signed contract by 4 PM on July 15, 2019. After this date, the player can only play under the tag for the season.

146 days: Transition Tag Signing

Any player who is designated with the transition tag must have a signed contract from another club by 4 PM on July 22, 2019. After this date, only the team who issued the tag has exclusive negotiating rights.

~148 days: Training Camp

Although with the Steelers will not officially announce the official start date of training camp until the preseason schedule is set, they generally report the middle of the final week of July.

156 days: Hall of Fame Game

Hopefully this date is insignificant to the Steelers and they are not forced to play a fifth preseason game. But the next time NFL players face off on the field will be in the Hall of Fame game on August 1, 2019.

163-166 days: First Preseason Game

Assuming the Steelers are not stuck playing in the Hall of Fame game, their first preseason game will lie somewhere between Thursday, August 8 and Sunday, August 11, 2019.

184 days: Last Preseason Game

If the NFL follows their typical schedule, the final preseason games for all teams will be on Thursday, August 29, 2019.

186 days: 53-man Rosters

By 4 PM on Saturday, August 31, teams will have to make their final cuts in order to determine the 53-man roster.

191 days: NFL Kickoff Game

Thursday, September 5, 2019 will be the first game of the NFL season. Barring a horrendous scheduling conflict much like that in 2013 or the NFL choosing to do something different for their 100th season, the game will be played in New England. The most likely opponent for the game will either be Pittsburgh, Dallas, Kansas City, or possibly even Cleveland being an up-and-coming team.

341 days: Super Bowl LIV

Super Bowl LIV is scheduled to be played on February 2, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The Steelers currently are 20/1 odds to win.