We’re set to turn another page in the New Orleans Saints’ offseason calendar, with the NFL announcing a number of important dates for both the 2023 and 2024 seasons on Tuesday.
Here are the dates to mark on your calendar (you know, in addition to this year’s Saints games) for every month from Saints training camp in July to Super Bowl LVIII and the 2024 NFL draft:
July
- July 11: The NFL will hold the supplemental draft for the first time since 2019; the list of prospects is still being finalized, but right now it includes former Purdue wide receiver Milton Wright.
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July 17: This is the deadline for any players who have received the franchise tag to sign an extension with their team. If no deal is reached, teams may opt to trade the franchise player instead, though it’s very rare, and we shouldn’t expect the Saints to get involved. Names of note:
- RB Saquon Barkley (New York Giants)
- RB Tony Pollard (Dallas Cowboys)
- RB Josh Jacobs (Las Vegas Raiders)
- TE Evan Engram (Jacksonville Jaguars)
- DT Daron Payne (Washington Commanders)
- July 24-26: This is the probable start of Saints training camp practices open to the media, though the team has not yet announced it as such. Other teams around the league have already finalized it and these things tend to follow one after the other. Stay tuned for an official announcement on dates open to fans.
- July 25: Saints safety Marcus Maye is due in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. court on charges stemming from his Feb. 2021 DUI case. Maye missed six games last year with injuries and could be suspended this year once these legal proceedings wrap up. Any time he misses opens up doors for young, hungry players like Smoke Monday and Jordan Howden.
- July 31: Alvin Kamara is facing felony assault charges following his alleged involvement in a Feb. 2022 beating at a Las Vegas nightclub, so he’ll miss some time in training camp attending to that. His absence will create an opportunity for rookie draft pick Kendre Miller, who has already voiced his intentions of taking Kamara’s roster spot someday soon.
August
- Aug. 1-11: Saints training camp will continue at their practice facility inside the Ochsner Sports Performance Center in Metairie, La., including full-contact padded sessions and workouts in front of fans. Stay tuned for official dates.
- Aug. 13: The Kansas City Chiefs will visit for a preseason matchup with the Saints at the Caesars Superdome; kickoff is schedule for 12 p.m. CT on a national broadcast on NFL Network.
- Aug. 20: The Saints will fly out for several joint practices with the Los Angeles Chargers before their exhibition game at SoFi Stadium, scheduled at 6 p.m. CT. This game will also be aired nationally on NFL Network.
- Aug. 27: The Houston Texans will visit for a preseason game at the Caesars Superdome, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. CT. FOX will carry the game on a national broadcast. This follows several days of joint practices between the Saints and Texans at New Orleans’ practice facility in Metairie.
- Aug. 29: Teams must reduce rosters from 90 players to just 53 no later than 3 p.m. CT. The Saints usually start early, but this will still be a busy — and difficult — day for all involved.
- Aug. 30: All players waived during the previous day’s roster cuts may be claimed by other teams; upon clearing waivers, they may be signed to the practice squad. Additionally, any player placed on injured reserve at this point may be designated for return during the regular season.
September
- Sept. 3: Final day of training camp, as determined by the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement.
- Sept. 4-9: First regular season injury report. Because the Saints begin their season on Sunday, 10, we’ll be looking for injury reports from them (as well as the opposing Tennessee Titans) beginning Wednesday, Sept. 6.
- Sept. 10: Saints host the Titans in Week 1 at the Caesars Superdome; kickoff is set for 12 p.m. CT. This will be the first time they’ve played against Derrick Henry — the Tennessee star running back has faced every team in the league except for New Orleans and his own Titans.
- Sept. 18: Saints visit the Carolina Panthers in Week 2 for a Monday night game; kickoff has been scheduled for 6:15 p.m. CT. This will be a double-header in prime time, preceding a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings.
- Sept. 24: Saints visit the Green Bay Packers in Week 3, with kickoff set at 12 p.m. CT. This will be one of the first starts of Jordan Love’s much-hyped career as an NFL quarterback.
October
- Oct. 1: Saints host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 12 p.m. CT for their first look at the post-Tom Brady era. Unfortunately, the Bucs will not be wearing their admittedly-great “creamsicle” throwback jerseys in this game.
- Oct. 2: The Saints may designate any players on the physically unable to perform (PUP) or non-football injury (NFI) lists to return during a 21-day window to return to practice.
- Oct. 8: Saints visit the New England Patriots for a Week 5 game at 12 p.m. CT. Last time they left New England with a 28-13 win, putting the game away with a strong defensive effort and intercepting Mac Jones three times.
- Oct. 15: Saints visit the Houston Texans for a Week 6 road game at 12 p.m. CT, which will be interesting seeing as they’ll have practiced against rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud for a few days before their preseason game in the summer.
- Oct. 19: Saints host the Jacksonville Jaguars for a Thursday night game (kickoff at 7:15 p.m. CT) in their first real test with a dangerous playoff contender. It’s tough to look at Jaguars coach Doug Pederson and wonder how the Saints let him get away without making a serious pursuit at the Super Bowl winner when they had the chance.
- Oct 23: Any Saints players designated to return from PUP or NFI must be activated or else be deactivated for the rest of the season.
- Oct. 29: Saints visit the Indianapolis Colts for their first game at Lucas Oil Stadium since 2015 (kickoff at 12 p.m. CT). Khiry Robinson, Michael Hoomanawanui, and Mark Ingram II each scored touchdowns for New Orleans but two long scores by T.Y. Hilton, who twice got behind Delvin Breaux, made it a close 27-21 finish.
- Oct. 31: The NFL’s trade deadline triggers at 3 p.m. CT. If the Saints haven’t yet cut a deal for any veteran players around the league (like Raiders slot receiver Hunter Renfrow), this will be their last chance to do it.
November
- Nov. 1: Players with at least four credited seasons (typically meaning six or more games played each year, though it’s obviously more complicated than that) now test the waiver wire upon release rather than immediately becoming free agents.
- Nov. 5: Saints host the Chicago Bears for a Week 9 game at 12 p.m. CT. They’re one of the few teams to not have gotten a look at Bears quarterback Justin Fields yet. He’s thrown nearly as many interceptions (21) as touchdown passes (25) in 27 starts, also taking 91 sacks and fumbling 28 times. Fields has exciting playmaking ability but he can be beaten.
- Nov. 12: Saints visit the Minnesota Vikings for a 12 p.m. CT kickoff in Week 10. Minnesota has been a tough out for the Saints despite their very average quarterback situation, with Kirk Cousins managing a 3-3 record against them, including the playoffs.
- Nov. 19: The Saints will be on bye this week after playing their first 10 games, resting up for the home stretch. They’ll come out of the bye with four home games left ahead of them, including three in a row from Weeks 13 to 15.
- Nov. 23: A lot of scrutiny has been placed on the Saints’ Week 16 road game with the Los Angeles Rams as a matchup which may be flexed out of its Thursday night slot, and this is the deadline for the NFL to make a decision on that. The Saints will have played 10 games and the Rams 11, so decision-makers will have a good idea of how watchable that contest may be.
- Nov. 26: Saints visit the Atlanta Falcons for a Week 12 rivalry game at 12 p.m. CT. No matter how great or terrible these two teams may be, they always seem to get up for this heated series. It doesn’t help that Atlanta poached a lot of talent from New Orleans like defensive lineman David Onyemata and linebacker Kaden Elliss, as well as their new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen.
December
- Dec. 3: Saints host the Detroit Lions at 12 p.m. CT in Week 13, giving us a great look at Lions coach Dan Campbell and the team he’s built versus his counterpart Dennis Allen and the New Orleans squad Campbell once worked with. This might be the game of the year for New Orleans if the Lions’ arrow keeps trending up, if nothing else for Michael Thomas lining up against C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
- Dec. 10: Saints host the Carolina Panthers for a rematch of their early-season matchup in prime time; they’ll kick off at 12 p.m. CT under a significantly smaller spotlight this time, even if this game might carry more playoff implications as the NFC South title race intensifies.
- Dec. 12-13: The NFL will gather for special league meetings and a Front Office Accelerator event in Irving, Texas to help introduce general manager prospects to team owners and decision-makers ahead of the offseason hiring cycle. Saints executive Khai Harley participated in this event last year.
- Dec. 17: Saints host the New York Giants to close out their three-game homestand at 12 p.m. CT in Week 15. They’ll need to make the most of this opportunity before flying coast-to-coast. The Giants got the better of them in an overtime upset the last time they visited New Orleans.
- Dec. 21: Saints visit the Los Angeles Rams for a Thursday night game at 7:15 p.m. CT — unless it’s flexed out of this slot due to one or both teams failing to meet expectations by that Nov. 23 deadline, in which case they would play on Dec. 24 instead, still at SoFi Stadium. The Rams are fielding one of the thinnest rosters in recent memory this year so that’s a real possibility.
- Dec. 31: Saints visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the second leg of this road trip, scheduled for 12 p.m. CT. Tampa Bay isn’t expected to be competitive this season so this should be seen as a must-win game for New Orleans to close out the year.
January
- Jan. 6-7: We won’t know until closer to this date when exactly the Saints will host the Atlanta Falcons in their regular season finale. It makes sense to reserve a prominent time slot if one or both teams are in the thick of the NFC South title race.
- Jan. 8: Players selected in the 2021 NFL draft and former undrafted free agents signed in 2022 will become eligible to sign extensions with their teams; for the Saints, this includes guys like Pete Werner, Paulson Adebo, Rashid Shaheed, and Lewis Kidd. Additionally, the window opens to exercise fifth-year options for 2021 first-round picks like Payton Turner.
- Jan. 10: Playoff team rosters will be frozen “with limited exceptions.”
- Jan. 13-15: Wild Card Round playoff games.
- Jan. 20-21: Divisional Round playoff games.
- Jan. 28: AFC and NFC Championship Games.
February
- Feb. 1: The Shrine Bowl in Frisco, Texas will feature plenty of NFL talent after sending a record 45 players into the 2023 draft class.
- Feb. 3: The Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. will showcase many early-round prospects and coaches and executives from around the league.
- Feb. 4: The Pro Bowl Games will return after a successful debut in Las Vegas last year. The Saints were last represented by Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis, with Derek Carr also drawing a lot of attention during his split with the Raiders.
- Feb. 11: Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium.
- Feb. 20: This opens the window for NFL teams to issue the franchise tag to pending 2024 free agents.
- Feb. 27-March 4: Top prospects will work out and go through interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
March
- March 1-4: The combine continues as more position groups go through drills and meetings with NFL teams.
- March 5: The deadline to issue the franchise tag at 3 p.m. CT. Additionally, Jameis Winston’s contract with the Saints expires on this date, giving him an early start on free agency.
- March 11-13: The legal tampering window opens to negotiate with other teams’ pending free agents. Barring early extensions, names to watch for the Saints include Winston, Cameron Jordan, Andrus Peat, Michael Thomas, Cesar Ruiz, and Carl Granderson.
- March 12: Jordan’s contract with the Saints will expire, assuming he hasn’t signed an extension already, leaving behind $23.3 million in dead money. Both sides are working on a long-term deal.
- March 13: The 2024 league year begins at 3 p.m. CT, allowing previously-agreed trades to be consummated and for pens to go to paper on deals negotiated between free agents and teams.
- March 15: Peat’s contract with the Saints expires, leaving behind $13.6 million in dead money. He’ll have the opportunity to explore his options.
- March 16: Granderson’s contract expires, making him a free agent and leaving behind $80,000 in dead money. He’s a player on the rise and could be in line for a lucrative contract on the open market.
- March 17: Smith’s contract is set to expire, leaving behind $1 million as dead money and giving him a second run at a payday. He didn’t receive much interest from other teams in his last foray.
- March 24-27: The NFL competition committee will present rules changes to league ownership at meetings in Orlando, Fla.
April
- April 1: Offseason workout programs begin for teams that have hired a new head coach. Will that include the Saints, or will Dennis Allen still be on top of the organization?
- April 15: Teams bringing back the same head coach from the 2023 season may begin their offseason programs — a list that will presumably include Allen and New Orleans.
- April 17: This is the deadline for teams to host “top 30” visits with draft prospects at their home facilities.
- April 25-27: The 2024 NFL draft will kick off in Detroit, introducing fans to the next generation of pro talent. Attendance has grown year-over-year since the draft became a traveling event. When will the Saints go on the clock?
- April 29: After this date, free agents may be signed without factoring into the compensatory draft picks formula for 2025; the Saints have taken advantage of the loophole in recent years by signing guys like Jameis Winston, Tyrann Mathieu, Jarvis Landry, and Foster Moreau after the deadline.
May
- May 2: Here’s the deadline to exercise fifth-year options for the 2021 draft class. It’s hard to see a scenario where the Saints pick up the option for Payton Turner, but you never know.
- May 3-6 or May 10-13: Teams may hold three-day rookie minicamp practices on either of these weekends.
- May 13: All teams will kick off their rookie developmental programs with weight room work and checkups.
- May 20-22: League ownership will regroup for spring meetings in Nashville, where they’ll cast votes on rules change proposals and other items of debate.
