NFL Key Dates 2022: Bears announce offseason schedule

Let’s check in on what the Bears and the NFL has coming up in the next few months.

The NFL does a fantastic job of spacing out all their “offseason” events and activities, which makes it so the league stays relevant in the world of sports for all 12 months. There’s really only one lull in the schedule and that’s the few weeks before teams all report to their training camps.

With the Chicago Bears announcing all their important offseason dates earlier today, I wanted to intertwine them with all the key upcoming dates for the NFL, which in case you weren’t aware gets started tomorrow!

March 1-7: NFL Combine

March 2: Bears general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus will meet the media in separate press conferences from the Combine

March 14: Early Negotiation period for Free Agency

March 16: 2022 League year opens, Free Agency officially starts

April 4: Teams with a new coach, like the Bears, can begin their offseason workout program

April 26: Bears announce their Brian Piccolo Award winners

April 28-30: NFL Draft

May 6-8: Bears rookie minicamp

The NFL announced the full preseason/season schedule on May 12 last season and on May 9 for the 2020 season.

May 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, and 26: Bears voluntary OTA practices (organized team activities)

June 6, 7, and 9: Bears voluntary OTA practices

June 14-16: Mandatory full-squad minicamp

Last year the Bears started training camp on Tuesday, July 27.

You can check out the NFL’s full offseason schedule here.