NFL Offseason 2024: Important KC Chiefs Dates and Events Primer
With the Kansas City Chiefs having won Super Bowl LVIII and celebrated their victory, the narrative of the 2023-24 NFL campaign is officially over. With that said, another story containing plenty of chapters is right around the corner.
The 2024 NFL offseason is underway for all 32 clubs, bringing quite a bit of excitement along with it. Over the next handful of days, weeks and months, league coaches and executives will attempt to put themselves in good positions to compete once the regular season rolls around. In doing so, they'll participate in events like offseason scouting, workouts, the NFL Draft, free agency spending and much more.
For the Chiefs, general manager Brett Veach has his hands full. Kansas City is trying to do what no other team has ever accomplished. With a quality offseason, Patrick Mahomes and Co. will be suited to chase a three-peat of Super Bowl wins. Let's go over a list of things Veach and his staff will be monitoring to help make that happen.
February: Franchise tag window opens, NFL Scouting Combine begins
Beginning on Feb. 20, all teams can designate players with franchise and transition tags. This provides more time for sides to negotiate long-term contracts, as well as forcing slated free agents to stay with their original teams. Tag-and-trade scenarios will surely be on the table, too.
The Chiefs have two players to keep an eye on as far as the franchise tag is concerned, and both are on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback L'Jarius Sneed are both projected free agents once the new league year begins. Jones held out last offseason and was unable to come to terms with Kansas City on an extension, but a new one-year pact saw him return to the team. He's optimistic about his chances of coming back for 2024-25 and beyond. Sneed, on the other hand, played out the final year of his rookie contract and was fantastic while doing so.
Jones's tag number figures to be upward of $32 million, which would be very difficult for the team to stomach. Sneed's is a much more affordable number at just under $19M, which could be somewhat close to what he'd net on a per-year basis on the open market. The Chiefs want to keep both players in the fold, and that Feb. 20 mark is a big initial (and eligible) step in that process.
The 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis also begins in late February. Feb. 29 is the first set of workouts, as defensive linemen and linebackers will test at 3:00 p.m. ET.
March: Combine continues, tag deadline, new league year begins, legal tampering period and free agency frenzy are live
The Combine runs through early March, as different position groups will test on March 1, 2 and 3. This is a premier opportunity for team personnel to get a firsthand look at prospects, as well as meet with agents and such for contract purposes. Many of the conversations that take place in Indianapolis will set the table for how the remainder of the offseason unfolds.
At 4:00 p.m. ET on March 5, the franchise tag and transition tag deadline arrives. By then, teams will have to decide on whether to slap key players with a tag or let them hit free agency. Last year, the Chiefs decided against tagging left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.
From March 11-13, there's a negotiating period that opens for players who are pending unrestricted free agents. Legal tampering is different than straight-up free agency — deals cannot become finalized. During this period, free agents' agents can communicate with front offices about contracts.
March 13 is perhaps the biggest day of the entire offseason. At 4:00 p.m. ET, the new NFL league year and free agency both begin. At this time, players can sign with other squads in free agency and trades can start happening. Additionally, June 1 cuts are allowed to be allocated and teams must decide on qualifying offers for their impending restricted free agents.
The NFL's annual league meetings will take place from March 24-27 in Orlando, Florida. At the meetings, the competition committee can vote on possible rule changes and team representatives oftentimes speak about the offseason to that point. Similar to the Combine, don't be surprised to hear about some interesting conversations that took place down in Florida.
April: Offseason workouts begin, restricted free agent deadline, pre-draft meeting deadline, 2024 NFL Draft
Teams with new head coaches get a head start on offseason workouts, so that won't apply to the Chiefs. The first day Kansas City can begin conditioning programs is April 15. In recent years, Mahomes has hosted receivers for workouts down in Texas. This phase of the offseason program is naturally lax compared to others.
In mid-to-late April, teams have a deadline to match offer sheets for restricted free agents and those RFAs must sign their offer sheets by April 19. The Chiefs' list of RFAs heading into the offseason consists of tight end Jody Fortson and offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho. Their exclusive rights free agents are linebacker Jack Cochrane, cornerback Nazeeh Johnson, guard Mike Caliendo and defensive end Malik Herring. Around this time, teams also have to wrap up communication and meetings with prospective NFL Draft picks.
From April 25-27, the 2024 NFL Draft will take place in Detroit, Michigan. The first round is held on Thursday, with Friday seeing rounds 2-3 unfold and rounds 4-7 happening on Saturday. The NFL Mock Draft Database projects the Chiefs will have the following selections at their disposal:
- Round 1, pick 32
- Round 2, pick 64
- Round 3, pick 95
- Round 4, pick 133
- Round 5, pick 158
- Round 5, pick 172
May: Fifth-year option deadline, rookie minicamp, 2024 NFL schedule release expected
The May 2 fifth-year option deadline doesn't apply to the Chiefs, as they sent their 2021 first-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens for Brown.
Teams have two choices for rookie minicamps this year: May 3-6 or May 10-13. This provides a great opportunity for recently-drafted rookies and undrafted free agent pickups to dip their toes in the NFL waters. At this same time, workouts can be conducted for possible signings.
If the league follows a schedule similar to the past couple of years, early-to-mid May will be when the 2024 NFL regular-season schedule gets released. The Chiefs know they'll be opening the season on Sept. 5 as the reigning champs, securing a home game to begin the year. Kansas City's home opponents for 2024 will be the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last year, organized team activities (OTAs) began in late May.
Rest of offseason: OTAs and training camp
The remainder of the offseason sees teams' rosters begin to take shape as players report for more (OTAs) and mandatory minicamps. For many, this will be the first taste of what life in the NFL is like and what training camp could look like a bit down the road. Historically, mid-July has served as the deadline for teams to reach contract agreements with their franchise-tagged players. This could apply to Sneed or Jones if the Chiefs go this route and a deal isn't reached by then.
Luckily for Chiefs fans hoping to attend training camp, the team and Missouri Western State University have agreed to extend their deal through 2024. That means Kansas City will be hitting the road for St. Joseph, Missouri for yet another offseason camp. Expected to begin in late July, the Chiefs will hit the ground running and continue to work in drills through August and the start of the preseason.
