2024 NFL Calendar: Important offseason dates for the Browns

A look at the key dates this offseason as the Browns get to work for the 2024 season.

The NFL offseason is officially upon us as there will not be another meaningful game played until September.

Even so, this is a league that never sleeps so there is considerable work to be done by the Cleveland Browns and the other 30 teams all hoping to be the ones to keep the Kansas City Chiefs from winning their third consecutive Super Bowl a year from now.

From free agency to the NFL Scouting Combine, transition and franchise tags, offseason workouts, and the 2024 NFL Draft, general manager Andrew Berry’s calendar is going to be full, so here are some key dates to keep in mind over the next few months, courtesy of the NFL.

February 20 @ 4 p.m.

Teams can begin to place either the Franchise tag or Transition tag on their players. The Browns do not have any high-priority free agents this year, so this day will likely go by relatively quietly in Berea.

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February 27 to March 4

The annual NFL Scouting Combine takes place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. General managers and head coaches usually have media time at the event, so this will be an opportunity to check in with Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Expect to hear that quarterback Deshaun Watson is “on track” in his recovery from shoulder surgery, running back Nick Chubb is “working hard” to come back from his knee surgery, and plenty of questions about whether or not Stefanski will give up calling plays on offense now that offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey is in town.

March 5 @ 4 p.m.

The deadline arrives for teams to designate Franchise or Transition players.

March 11 to March 13

The “legal tampering” period for free agents begins on March 11 at noon and ends on March 13 at precisely 3:59:59 p.m. (Hopefully the clocks in Berea are all synchronized.) During this time teams are allowed to work out contract details with the agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents at the stroke of 4 p.m. on March 13.

If Berry has his eye on a particular free agent or two, this is when the team will its move. However, he has some accounting work to do before then as the Browns are currently $19.6 million over the 2024 salary cap, according to Over The Cap.

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March 24 to 27

The league’s owners will convene in Orlando, Fla., for the annual league meeting. This is often an opportunity to hear from owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, as well as the league deciding on any rule changes for the upcoming season.

April 15

Teams with a returning head coach, which thankfully includes the Browns, are permitted to begin their offseason workout programs. This will be the first opportunity for Dorsey to start working with the offensive players and for defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to start working with the defensive players about what he has planned for 2024.

April 25 to April 27

The league will return to Las Vegas, the site of this year’s Super Bowl, for the 2024 NFL Draft. Cleveland does not have a first-round selection again this year as part of the trade for Watson, but currently holds eight picks, starting in Round 2 and running through Round 3, Round 5 (two picks), Round 6 (two picks), and Round 7 (two picks).

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May 2

Deadline day arrives for teams to exercise the fifth-year option on players selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. That puts cornerback Greg Newsome II in the spotlight (and the last Cleveland player who will have a fifth-year option until at least 2028).

Over the Cap projects Newsome’s option to land at $12.16 million and the decision should be easy for Berry to make.

May 3 to May 5 or May 10 to May 13

Teams will hold their three-day rookie minicamp on one of two weekends in May. The Browns have preferred to utilize the second weekend the past couple of years to welcome their draftees, unrestricted free agents, and tryouts to Berea.

Week of May 20

Organized Team Activities, commonly referred to as OTAs, may begin. During this time teams can hold up to 10 days of practice activities, but live contact is strictly prohibited. It is also important to note, because a fuss is made every year, that the offseason program is voluntary so there will be players not participating at times.

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June TBD

The final portion of the offseason program is the three-day mandatory minicamp, which generally falls sometime in the first two weeks of June. Let’s repeat that this minicamp is mandatory, so if a player decides to skip then that is the time for fans to start feeling anxious.

July TBD

Training camp opens sometime in late July. Last year the Browns spent a portion of training camp at The Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia, so it will be interesting to see if Stefanski looks to take the team outside of Berea again this summer.