Bengals Key Offseason Dates to Remember: Rookie Minicamp, OTAs and Training Camp

With the NFL Draft in the past, it’s time to look ahead to the next important date on the calendar for the Cincinnati Bengals.

The first one is Friday, which is the deadline to exercise the fifth-year option on 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy. However, the Bengals reportedly won’t be picking up that option, so you can remove Friday from the list of important dates.

The option would have resulted in Murphy making just shy of $14.5 million in 2026, with all of it guaranteed.

It’s worth noting that just because the Bengals aren’t using the fifth-year option doesn’t mean Murphy won’t be on the roster after 2026. The team is interested in signing him to an extension, a move that would allow them to put a 2027 cap hit on him that is lower than $14.5 million.

Cincinnati Bengals Important Dates 2026

May 8

The Bengals will hold their rookie camp. All of the draft picks and undrafted free agent signings are expected to attend, along with the possibility of a handful of players invited on a tryout basis.

May 12-14

The league still has announced the exact date for the schedule release, but it is expected to be in the middle of the second week in May.

The league released the schedule on Wednesday, May 14 last year.

It was Wednesday, May 15 in 2024.

And it was Thursday, May 11 in 2023.

May 19-20

The spring league meetings will be held in Orlando, Fla.

June 1

The Bengals will hold their first on-field OTA practice.

The OTAs will run for two weeks. None of the practices are open to the public, but one each week will be open to the media.

June 16-18

The three-day mandatory mini-camp concludes the offseason.

The minicamp is open to the media, but not the public.

July 15

The deadline for players to sign the franchise tag.

The Bengals haven’t used the franchise tag and are not expected to.

July 29

The Bengals have yet to officially announce their training camp dates, but there usually are 16 days between the first practice and the Thursday of the first full week of preseason games.

On the 2026 calendar, it works out to Tuesday, July 29.

Sept. 13-14

The Bengals will play their season opener on either Sunday, Sept. 13, or Monday, Sept. 14.

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