2018 NFL League Calendar: Important dates including the Combine & Free Agency

Now that we are in offseason mode in the NFL, it is appropriate to look at the important dates coming up on the league calendar, including dates related to the combine, free agency, and the NFL Draft.

NFL Scouting Combine

It might be the offseason, but that doesn't mean there is much downtime in terms of football discussion. From February 27th - March 5th, 2018, the NFL Combine will take place in Indianapolis. As discussed previously, the NFL is not bringing back the regional combines in 2018.

Franchise Tag, Free Agency, and NFL Draft Dates

Here are some other important upcoming league dates (for the year 2018) to be aware of:

• February 20th: Teams can begin applying the franchise or transition tag to players on their team.
• March 6th: The final day to declare a franchise player, before 4:00 PM ET.
• March 12th - March 14th: Teams can begin entering contract negotiations with players who will be unrestricted free agents. Qualifying offers to restricted free agents and offers to unrestricted free agents who the team wants to retain should also be made during this stretch.
• March 14th: At 4:00 PM ET, free agency officially begins, and teams may begin signing players or trading players who are still under contract. Additionally, all teams must be under the salary cap at this time.
• March 25th - March 28th: Annual League Meeting, Orlando, FL
• April 2nd: Clubs that hired a new head coach after the end of the 2017 regular season may begin offseason workout programs. This does not include the Browns. Teams with returning coaches begin April 16th.
• April 26th - April 28th: NFL Draft, Arlington, TX
• May 21st - May 23rd: NFL Spring League Meeting, Atlanta, GA

You can find the entire details of the league calendar here.