The offseason for the Indianapolis Colts has officially arrived after they wrapped up their 2022 regular season with a wild loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday.
There will be many changes coming during the 2023 offseason, and the first order of business will be finding a new head coach. Following that, there will be other mile-markers throughout the offseason that will permit the Colts to make certain moves.
The Colts can begin signing players to the offseason roster, which will expand to 90 players beginning Monday. So expect to see a lot of futures contracts popping up.
But the Colts can only make certain moves until the new league year begins, and there will be plenty of important dates to keep an eye out for throughout the next few months.
Using NFL Operations page as the reference, here are the important dates for the Colts during the 2023 offseason:
January 2023
Jan. 9: Clubs may begin signing free agent players for the 2023 season.
Jan. 9: NCAA National Championship game
Jan. 9: Earliest permissible date for clubs to renegotiate or extend the rookie contract of a player selected in any round of the 2020 NFL draft or any undrafted rookie who signed in 2021.
Jan. 14-16: Wild-card weekend
Jan. 16: Deadline for underclassmen to declare for the 2023 NFL draft.
Jan. 21-22: Divisional playoff games
Jan. 29: AFC & NFC Championship games
February 2023
Feb. 2: East-West Shrine Bowl (Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV)
Feb. 4: Senior Bowl (Mobile, AL)
Feb. 5: Pro Bowl (Las Vegas, NV)
Feb. 9: 12th Annual NFL Honors Show (Symphony Hall, Phoenix, AZ)
Feb. 12: Super Bowl LVII (State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ)
Feb. 13: Waiver system begins for 2023
Feb. 21: First day for clubs to designate franchise or transition players
Feb. 28-March 6: NFL Scouting Combine (Indianapolis, IN)
March 2023
March 7: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for clubs to designate franchise or transition players.
March 7: College Pro Days begin
March 7-April 19: Draft-eligible facility visits begin (top-30 visits)
March 7-April 26: Video or telephone interviews with draft-eligible players begin.
March 13-15: Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2022 player contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 15 (aka “Legal Tampering Period”)
March 15: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must exercise options for 2023 on all players who have option clauses in their 2022 contracts.
March 15: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit qualifying offers to their Restricted Free Agents with expiring contracts to retain a Right of First Refusal/Compensation.
March 15: Prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, clubs must submit a minimum salary tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2022 contracts who have fewer than three accrued seasons of free agency credit.
March 15: Top 51 Rule begins. All clubs must be under the 2023 Salary Cap prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time.
March 15: All 2022 player contracts will expire at 4:00 p.m., New York time. The 2023 league year and free agency period begin at 4:00 p.m., New York time.
March 15: The first day of the 2022 league year will end at 11:59:59 p.m., New York time, on March 16. Clubs will receive a personnel notice that will include all transactions submitted to the league office during the period between 4:00 p.m., New York time, and 11:59:59 p.m., New York time.
March 15: Trading period for 2023 begins at 4:00 p.m., New York time, after the expiration of all 2022 contracts. (Trades can be agreed upon before then but aren’t official until this time).
March 26-29: Annual League Meeting (The Biltmore, Phoenix, AZ)
April 2023
April 3: Clubs that hired a new head coach after the end of the 2022 regular season may begin offseason workout programs
April 17: Clubs with returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programs
April 19: Deadline for top-30 visits
April 21: Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets
April 26: Deadline for Prior Club to exercise Right of First Refusal to restricted free agents
April 27: Deadline for clubs to time, test, visit, interview (including video and phone calls), or conduct a physical examination with a draft-eligible player at any location.
April 27-29: 2023 NFL draft (Kansas City, MO)
May 2023
May 1: Deadline for clubs to exercise fifth-year option for player selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft
May 5-8 or May 12-15: Clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-Draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday on one of the two weekends following the Draft.
May 15: Rookie development program begins
May 18-21 (Tentative): NFLPA Rookie Premiere
May 22-24: Spring League Meeting
