Buffalo Bills: Important Dates To Remember This Offseason
By Ryan Brennan
The Buffalo Bills have a very crucial offseason ahead of them. Here are some important dates that you’ll want to watch for.
This offseason will be an important one for the Buffalo Bills, who have transitioned into an new era with Sean McDermott leading the way.
So far this offseason, fans have learned the fate of a lot of players. Some returning, some new faces and some that have been sad to leave. All in all, the team has brought in help at safety (Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer), the backfield (Patrick DiMarco and Mike Tolbert), wide receiver (Corey Brown), offensive guard (Vladimir Ducasse) and kicker (Steven Hauschka).
The Buffalo Bills have also announced that Tyrod Taylor, Lorenzo Alexander, Jordan Mills and Colton Schmidt will return next season. We will all say goodbye to Marquise Goodwin, Aaron Williams, Robert Woods, Corey Graham, Stephon Gilmore, Marcus Easley and Lerentee McCray.
The team is already starting to look noticeable different in some areas, as you can see. There’s plenty more offseason to be had, including more free agency, the draft and the cutting process before the season starts.
With that being said, it’s going to be important for fans to pay close attention the rest of this offseason. Listed below are the important dates to look out for as the next few months roll out:
March 7th – COMPLETE
The “legal tampering” period begins. Starting at 4 pm EST from March 7th-9th, teams will be allowed to begin negotiating with unrestricted free agents. Keep in mind, a deal can’t be finalized during this period.
March 9th – COMPLETE
A lot happens on this day, most importantly the NFL 2017 league year and free agency period begin at 4 pm on March 9th. In addition, 4 pm will be a deadline for teams that want to submit qualifying offers to their restricted free agents (Mike Gillislee), as well as the beginning of the trade period.
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March 11th – COMPLETE
One of the biggest days of the offseason for the Buffalo Bills, March 11th is the deadline for the team to pick up Tyrod Taylor’s option. If they decide to not do it, he will become a free agent and a quarterback search will happen immediately.
March 26th
From March 26-29, we will learn of any new rule proposals for the following season as the NFL goes through the Annual League Meeting. Perhaps we will learn more about the change in commercial breaks.
April 3rd
Any team with a new head coach, which includes several teams, will be able to begin offseason workouts on April 3rd — two weeks before all other teams.
April 21st
This will be the deadline for restricted free agents to sign their offer sheets.
April 27th
Another big day for the Buffalo Bills, the NFL Draft will begin on April 27th and continue through April 29th. Will the Buffalo Bills select a quarterback, wide receiver, safety or none of the above? I say wide receiver.
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May 5th
On May 5th, teams will have the option to host a 3-day, post-draft minicamp for their rookie class.
May 12th
Teams will have the option to host a second 3-day, post-draft minicamp for their rookie class.
May 15th
Teams will begin the Rookie Development Programs on May 15th. This is a program run by the Direcotr of Player Development and helps rookies transition into the NFL.
May 22nd
Spring League Meeting, where more announcements by the NFL will be made, whether its location of future Super Bowls or rule changes.
August 3rd
August 3rd, aside from it being the day before my birthday, is the Hall of Fame game, which signals the end of the offseason and the start of the preseason. The Dallas Cowboys will play the Arizona Cardinals to kick it off.
It’s going to be a hectic next few months for every NFL team, but few have the obstacles that the Buffalo Bills will have. This offseason will test Doug Whaley’s abilities and will set the standard for what Sean McDermott brings to this organization.
Stay tuned!
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What date are you most looking forward to? Leave your thoughts below!