The Kansas City Chiefs can take their first step towards preparing for the 2022 NFL season beginning on Monday.
The Chiefs are one of 13 NFL teams that will start the voluntary portion of their offseason workout program on April 18. The list also includes teams throughout the AFC and NFC such as the Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Tennesse Titans, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Washington Commanders.
The voluntary offseason workout program kicks off with Phase I — a two-week period where players are allowed to attend meetings, partake in strength and conditioning training at team facilities and participate in physical rehabilitation only. That period of the offseason workout program will last from April 18 through May 24.
It eventually leads Kansas City into Phase II of the offseason program, which includes three voluntary Organized Team Activities sessions. There are three groups of OTAs:
- Organized Team Activities Group 1: May 25-26.
- Organized Team Activities Group 2: May 31-June 2.
- Organized Team Activities Group 3: June 7-10.
Those can include on-field workouts with individual and group components, including walkthroughs, but no live contact is permitted during these workouts.
Rookie minicamp, which is the first portion of the offseason workout program that is not voluntary, can take place on the first or second weekend following the 2022 NFL draft, which ends on April 30. The Chiefs will hold their lone mandatory minicamp session from June 14 through June 16.
Training camp dates haven’t been announced yet, but they will begin sometime in late July. Rookies and quarterbacks reported to camp on July 23rd last season.
Some players will be highly motivated to get back into action in Kansas City, with workout bonus money attached to their contracts. Chiefs DE Frank Clark, for instance, has a league-high $1.25 million workout bonus per ESPN’s Field Yates.
All 32 teams are now permitted to conduct their offseason workout programs. While the program is optional, many players around the league have financial incentive in the form of a workout bonus.
None more so than Chiefs DE Frank Clark, who has a league-high $1.25M workout bonus.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 18, 2022
Expect Clark to be one of the first ones at team facilities as a result.
