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Let the countdown continue!
Although the Steelers offseason began months ago, the 2022 NFL league year is now exactly one month old. Unfortunately, this means we now have no meaningful football to look forward to for quite some time. With various offseason events now on the horizon, it’s time to check in again to count down the number of days to key offseason dates.
1 days: Offseason Workouts
April 18, 2022 is the first day teams where returning head coaches, like the Steelers, can begin their offseason workout program. Teams with new head coaches could have begun two weeks ago. The exact breakdown of what happens during the workouts is described as follows from Steelers.com.
Phase One (April 18-29): During this two-week voluntary phase activities are limited to strength and conditioning, meetings, and physical rehabilitation only.
Phase Two (May 2-20): In this voluntary phase on-field workouts may include drills with strict guidelines and no contact. Coaches are permitted to be on the field during this time. All drills must be conducted at an acceptable walkthrough pace that is for instructional purposes.
5 days: Deadline for RFA’s to sign offer sheets
Any restricted free agent must sign any offer sheet from another team by Friday, April 22, 2022. After this date, RFA’s can only sign with the team which offered them a tender. The only RFA who has not signed his tender with the Steelers in Marcus Allen.
11 days: NFL Draft
The 2022 NFL draft will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada beginning on Thursday, April 28 and continuing through Saturday, April 30. The Steelers are scheduled to have seven picks this year unless any kind of trade were to change the situation.
At this time, these are the only dates agreed upon for the NFL calendar by the NFL and the NFLPA. If the two sides agree on a schedule similar to past seasons, the estimations will be as follows:
~24 days: NFL Schedule Release
Last year the schedule came out once again after the NFL Draft. If the release is like 2021, it will come 13 days after the first night of the NFL draft, which would be Wednesday, May 11, 2022.
~26 days: Rookie Minicamp and OTAs
Based on the 2021 offseason schedule, Steelers rookie minicamp began the second Friday of May. If they keep the same schedule, the first day would be Friday, May 13, 2022.
35 days: OTAs and Mandatory Minicamp (Phase 3)
A date that is known is the official start for the Steelers OTAs, which will begin on the fourth Tuesday of May. The official starting date is Tuesday, May 24, 2022 for OTAs and continue for three weeks. The fourth week is mandatory minicap beginning on Tuesday 14. Phase three is described on Steelers.com as follows:
Phase Three (May 23-June 17): Teams may conduct a total of 10 voluntary Organized Team Activities, OTAs, during this phase. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted. The team’s mandatory minicamp takes place during this time.
89 days: Franchise Tag Signing
In past seasons, any player who was designated with a franchise tag must have a signed contract by 4 PM on July 15. After this date, the player can only play under the tag for the season.
96 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 in past seasons. After this date, only the team who issued the tag has exclusive negotiating rights.
~100 days: Training Camp
Although the Steelers will not officially announce the start date of training camp until the preseason schedule is set, they generally report the middle of the final week of July. With the Steelers not playing in the Hall of Fame Game, the fist day of training camp will not be earlier than the rest of the NFL and looks to be about July 26, 2022.
109 days: Hall of Fame Game
This date won’t be as significant to the Steelers for 2022 as they are not scheduled to play in the Hall of Fame Game, which will kick off the weekend on Thursday August 4, 2022. The Hall of Fame activities will be over the course of the weekend from the game Thursday through Sunday with the 2022 enshrinement likely scheduled for Saturday. For the game itself in 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders will face the Jacksonville Jaguars.
116-119 days: First Week of Preseason Game
If the NFL follows the same format they established in 2021, which was the first year with only three preseason games, they would still be scheduled to play in the first full week of preseason games somewhere between Thursday, August 11 and Sunday, August 14, 2022.
131-133 days: Last Preseason Game
If the NFL follows their schedule from last season, the final preseason games for all teams will be between Friday, August 26 and Sunday, August 28. If the NFL decides to change things up and not have two weeks in between the final preseason games and the start of the 2022 regular season, these games could be pushed back another week.
135 days: 53-man Rosters
Last season, the NFL mixed things up by having the final roster cut down date be the Tuesday following the final preseason games. If they stick to the same schedule this year, the date would be Tuesday, August 30, 2022.
144 days: NFL Kickoff Game
Thursday, September 8, 2022 will be the first game of the NFL season if things proceed as normal. Barring a horrendous scheduling conflict much like that in 2013, the game will be played in Los Angeles. Since the Steelers do not play the Rams in 2022, they should kick off three or four days later on either Sunday, September 11 or Monday, September 12. Maybe this year they will actually start with a home game.
301 days: Super Bowl LVII
Super Bowl LVII is scheduled to be played on February 12, 2023 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
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