Everything you should know about the Kansas City Chiefs offseason schedule
By Matt Conner
The NFL announced the offseason schedules for each team. Here are the full details and what you can expect at each stage.
Beginning in two weeks, on Monday, April 17, the Kansas City Chiefs will officially open for football business. It’s termed Day One of the team’s offseason activities and for the next several weeks, you’ll hear things like OTAs and minicamps, voluntary and mandatory workouts, varied dates for new and veteran coaches, special post-draft rookie camps, rehabilitation updates for players and the like. Because some terms can be confusing as to what exactly an NFL team can and cannot do, we’ve prepared this guide to break it all down for Chiefs fans, specifically.
Phase One (2 weeks) – April 17
Every team is given a nine-week stretch of time within which to work with players on teaching and training both veterans and rookies. Every aspect of the offseason program is considered to be voluntary except for one weekend mini-camp (we’ll get to that later). Beginning on day one (April 17, for the Chiefs), all players can voluntarily arrive at Arrowhead Stadium for film study, discussing of offensive and defensive schemes, physical conditioning and the like. This phase lasts two full weeks and is just about strength, conditioning and classroom instruction.
During this two-week period, the only news will likely be veterans talking about how good it feels to be back, updates on injured players in terms of rehab and timelines and younger players discussing how good it is to have a full year under their belt. For the Chiefs, this is more about review and going deeper with developmental players. For teams meeting head coaches for the first time, this is a much more vital period than for veteran teams in the league.
Phase Two (3 weeks) – May 1
During the three weeks from May 1-22, the Chiefs players will actually see the field under coaching instruction for the first time since the team walked off the field since their playoff loss against the Steelers. There is no offense versus defense allowed here at all, even without pads, nor is there any live contact permitted. However, teams can get on the field for pratice plays and player drills and the like. Conditioning and teaching continue in this phase as well.