Lions Key Offseason Dates to Remember: OTAs, Mandatory Veteran Minicamp

The Detroit Lions are set to move deeper into the offseason in the coming weeks.

After the NFL Draft reached its conclusion, the Lions are preparing for the next phase of the offseason. This features on-field workouts, which will offer a first glimpse at the new-look Lions heading into the 2026 season.

Detroit made a change to its offseason process this year, canceling rookie minicamp. In years past, the Lions have utilized rookie minicamp as an opportunity to acclimate their draft class to practices as well as offer tryout opportunities to some veteran free agents.

However, general manager Brad Holmes and the organization made the call to forego that this year. While the rookies will still undergo an acclimation process, it won't feature traditional practices like they've done in years past.

This change is one of multiple the Lions have made to their offseason. In addition, the team won't host joint practices for the first time since Dan Campbell's first year as head coach in 2021. Instead, the team will focus its training camp efforts on improving internally.

The Lions officially began offseason workouts on April 20 with voluntary workouts. This started Phase 1 of the NFL offseason, which allows teams the opportunity to conduct conditioning and have meetings over a two-week timeframe.

On-field workouts can officially begin with Phase 2, which is a three-week process. During Phase 2, team's can have on-field individual and group work and walkthroughs. After those three weeks, teams can officially begin Organized Team Activities.

Detroit will host three separate sessions of OTAs this year. The first session of OTAs is scheduled for May 27-29, the second slated for June 2-4 and the third and final set for June 9-11.

In these OTAs, the Lions will get their first look at how rookies such as first-round pick Blake Miller hold up against their veteran counterparts in a practice setting. Drills in seven-on-seven, nine-on-seven and 11-on-11 formats are all allowed, but live contact is prohibited.

Following those three sessions of OTAs, the Lions will wrap up their pre-training camp workouts with a mandatory minicamp spanning June 16-17. After that, the Lions will break for the summer before returning for the start of training camp.

Detroit has yet to announce its official training camp start date at this time, but has traditionally started in mid-to-late July.

Another date to keep an eye on is the NFL's annual schedule release. This has occurred in mid-May, usually in the second week of the month. The date for this year's schedule release has not officially been announced but could be very soon.

Lions' 2026 offseason calendar

OTAs Week 1: May 27-29.
OTAs Week 2: June 2-4.
OTAs Week 3: June 9-11.
Mandatory minicamp: June 16-17.

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