GREEN BAY, Wis. — Offseason workout dates were officially announced for all 32 teams across the league on Friday.
That includes the Green Bay Packers, who will be back in the facility on Monday, April 20, to commence Phase One of the offseason program.
The first two weeks of the program make up Phase One, with activities limited to strength and conditioning, meetings, and physical rehabilitation.
Phase Two happens over the following three weeks and transitions into more on-field work -- individual and group drills, including offensive players lining up across from defensive players, take place during this time.
Organized team activities -- or "OTAs" -- occur over the final four weeks of the program. While no live tackling takes place on the practice field during this time, teams are permitted to run 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills. It's just enough of a taste of football to hold you over until training camp.
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Teams can dedicate a total of 10 days to OTAs. For the Packers, those dates (9) are May 26-27, May 29, June 1-2, June 4, June 15-16, and June 18. Dates are subject to change.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement states that clubs have the option to host a mandatory minicamp slate for their veteran players, but it must occur during Phase Three of the offseason program. The Packers will hold their annual minicamp from June 9-11; typically, that final day of practice marks the end of the offseason program. However, the Packers will have three more days of OTAs to get through before they're free.
Players are on their own for a brief summer break before returning to Green Bay for the start of training camp in late July. It's that time on their own and away from the facility that could prove to be either imperative or detrimental for a player's season.
"Everybody feels good this time of the year," said head coach Matt LaFleur at the conclusion of last year's minicamp. "But you've got to continue to work. Just because we're done now, it goes on to the next phase, and now we have 40 days roughly before the start of training camp. You can't take your foot off the gas for one second in this league, because if you do, people are going to bypass you.
"We've got to keep pushing. These guys, they shoulder most of that responsibility in regards to how they go about training and taking care of their bodies and doing the things that they need to do to get ready to go when we get back here for the start of camp."
The Packers will also host their rookie minicamp either the first or second week following the draft. The two-day camp will consist of the team's draft picks, any undrafted free agents they sign, try-out players, and some returning second-year players. The dates have yet to be announced, but last year, it took place on May 3.
Zachary Jacobson is the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is entering his 12th season covering theGreen Bay Packers. He is a member of thePro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter@zacobson or contact him via email atitszachariahj@gmail.com