While eight lucky teams continue to duke it out on a path towards the Super Bowl, the Cleveland Browns are diving head first into a critical offseason, with plenty of key decisions to make.
One of those decisions was answered just a little over a week after the regular season came to a close as Cleveland opted for promoting Tommy Rees to serve as offensive coordinator after firing Ken Dorsey. With that box checked the Browns can now start focusing on the next phase of the offseason.
Considering that the Browns hold the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, the pre-draft process, featuring events like the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine, Pro Days and more, will be a pivotal time for the franchise to get a better read on this year’s crop of college players entering the NFL and what exactly they want to do with the second pick.
Rebuilding Cleveland’s roster starts now for vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry and will play out over the course of the next three months.
Here are the important dates and notable offseason events for Browns fans to be aware of.
Jan. 30 – East-West Shrine Bowl, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas.
Feb. 1 – Senior Bowl, Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama
Feb. 18 – Opening of clubs to designate players with Franchise or Transition tag starting at 4:00 p.m., New York time
Feb. 24 – March 3 – NFL Scouting Combine
March 4 – Deadline for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players by 4:00 p.m. New York time
March 10 – 12 – “Legal tempering” opens at 12:00 p.m. noon, New York time, allowing clubs to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2024 player contracts at 4:00 p.m. New York time on March 12
March 12 – The 2025 League Year and free agency signing period begin at 4:00 p.m., New York time.
March 30 – April 2 – Annual League Meeting, Palm Beach, Florida
April 16 – Deadline for clubs to time, test, visit, interview or conduct a physical examination with a draft-eligible player at its club facility
April 18 – Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets
April 21 – Clubs with returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programs
April 24 – 26 – NFL Draft, Green Bay, Wisconsin
May 1 – Deadline for clubs to exercise Fifth-Year Option for players selected in the first round of the 2022 Draft
May 2-5 or 9-12 – Clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-Draft rookie minicamp
May 12 – Rookie Football Development Programs begin.
May 20 – 21 – Spring League Meeting/Coach Accelerator, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Late May – Early June – Organized team activities are held at team facilities
Mid-June – Mandatory veteran minicamps are held at team facilities
July 15 – Deadline for any club that designated a Franchise Player to sign such player to a multiyear contract or extension by 4:00 p.m. New York Time
Mid-July – Clubs are permitted to open preseason training camp for rookies (defined as a player who has never signed an NFL player contract with a club in a prior league year) beginning seven days prior to the club’s mandatory reporting date for veteran players
Late July – NFL training camps commence
