01-08-2020, 04:52 AM
With the 2018 NFL season now a week in the rear-view mirror Marvin Jones Jersey , it’s time to look forward into the offseason abyss. It’s not all bad news, however. The NFL, more so than any other professional sports league, knows how to sell their offseason to a point where the eight-month gap between games doesn’t even seem that long. This feels like a particularly important offseason for the Detroit Lions. After a big step back in 2018, head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn are running out of time to win over the Lions fanbase. And with some of their better players (Darius Slay, Matthew Stafford, Damon Harrison Sr.) getting older, the time is now for the Lions to make a move. The next three months are absolutely key for Detroit to become competitive again.So to help you navigate through the next important dates and events in the NFL calendar, here is our offseason guide.February12: CFL signing dayAt noon ET, NFL teams are free to sign any CFL players whose contracts have expired in 2019.19: Franchise Tag opensStarting on Feb. 19, teams can designate players with a franchise or transition tag. 26 - March 4: NFL Scouting CombineThe biggest event remaining before the NFL Draft in April Kerryon Johnson Jersey , the NFL Combine has become a huge spectacle. Some of the best talent the 2019 NFL Draft will have to offer (see a list of the 338 invitees here) will travel down to Indianapolis to show off their athletic traits and work on drills in front of representatives for all 32 teams. March5: Franchise Tag deadlineIf a team plans on using the franchise tag, it must be designated by March 5 at 4 p.m. ET. 11-13: Free agency tampering periodTeams will be able to negotiate with agents (not the players themselves) of players that will be unrestricted free agents 13: Restricted free agency tender deadlineBy 4 p.m. ET, teams must offer restricted free agency tenders to their own players, or they will become unrestricted free agents. 13: FREE AGENCYStarting at 4 p.m. ET, teams may official sign any players that have become unrestricted free agents.17: Stafford roster bonusMatthew Stafford is due a fully guaranteed $5.5 million roster bonus. 24-27: League meetingsApril15: Offseason workoutsTeams may begin offseason workouts with strict limitations on what kind of activities are allowed. (Teams with new head coaches can start on April 1.)Mid-month: NFL schedule releasedThere’s no official date yet, but previous schedule releases happened on the 19th, 20th, 14th, 21st, 23rd and 18th.19: Restricted free agent deadlineRFAs with offer sheets must sign the tender by April 19.25-27: NFL DRAFTMayRookie minicampTeams can select from three different dates to hold their three-day rookie minicamp: May 3-5, May 4-6 or May 10-13. May 20: Spring league meetingsJuneLate May/early June: Organized Team Meetings (OTAs)Starting sometime in late May Amani Oruwariye Detroit Lions Jersey , teams are permitted to have three sets of OTAs—10 days total. Practices are non-contract, but resemble more traditional practices (seven-on-sevens, 11-on-11s). July15: Franchise tag deadlineTeams have until July 15 to sign a franchise tagged player to a long-term deal. If a contract is not signed, the player must either sign the franchise tag or sit out the season. Mid/Late July: TRAINING CAMPAugust1: Hall of Fame GameAll month: Preseason31: Roster cut-down dayBy 4 p.m. ET, all 32 teams must be down to a 53-man roster. September8-9: Week 1 of the regular seasonWe made it! WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)The fifth round of the Super Rugby season may help answer a big question: How strong are the South African teams?The round features four matches between South African sides and teams from other conferences, and may help shine light on the perplexing issue of the performance of teams from South Africa in this and recent seasons.The Johannesburg-based Lions have reached the tournament final in each of the last two years, losing to the Wellington-based Hurricanes in 2016 and the Christchurch-based Crusaders last year.After four rounds of the current season, the Lions again top the African conference with three wins from four games while the Durban-based Sharks, Pretoria-based Bulls and Cape Town-based Stormers have only three wins among them.The Lions’ only loss this season came last week, at home to the Auckland-based Blues Amani Oruwariye Jersey 2019 , and raised particular questions about the Lions strength as the Blues were winless and clearly the weakest of the five New Zealand teams.Confounding the estimation of South African strength, the Bulls’ only win so far came at the expense of the Hurricanes in the first round, the Sharks have drawn with the New South Wales Waratahs while the Stormers, after beating Argentina’s Jaguares in the first round, were at least competitive in tour matches against the Waratahs, Crusaders and Highlanders.In this weekend’s round, the Bulls play the Chiefs in Hamilton, the Sharks face the ACT Brumbies in Canberra, the Stormers meet the Blues in Cape Town and the Lions take on the Sunwolves, now part of the Australia conference, in Johannesburg.The Lions are expected to win against the Sunwolves who are the only team in the tournament without a win after four rounds Color Rush Amani Oruwariye Jersey , but the tasks of the other three teams are tougher.The Bulls desperately need a win over the injury-hit Chiefs to get their season underway and to have any chance of challenging the Lions for first place in the Africa conference. The Chiefs are without a number of key players this weekend: All Blacks props Nepo Laulala and Kane Hames, lock Dominic Bird, center Charlie Ngatai and winger Shaun Stevenson are all injured and Damian McKenzie has been forced to move from flyhalf to fullback.That opens a chance for the Bulls but their record in New Zealand is not strong, and the Chiefs have shown a strong fighting spirit this season, beating the Blues and putting up a good show against the Crusaders before last weekend’s bye.Bulls coach John Mitchell, who previously coached the Chiefs and played for the franchise’s central Waikato provice, said his team must seize the chance to reverse several seasons of under-performance.”Clearly we know where we want to head to and we know what we want to do,” Mitchell said. ”It’s just the timeline. We don’t know how long it will take.”The Sharks begin a four-week Australasian tour with their match against the Brumbies. The teams have in common the fact that their only wins this season came at the expense of Japan’s Sunwolves and both now need a win to remain competitive in their conferences.”They obviously have to get their campaign on the road and for us it’s really important that we start our tour well,” Sharks coach Robert du Preez said. ”They’re not scared to run the ball out of their own territory.We need to dominate their pack.”The Stormers have to recover quickly from a taxing tour to Australia and New Zealand to take on a Blues team whose spirits have been lifted by last weekend’s win over the Lions. Injuries to winger Seabelo Senatla and fullback S.P. Marais are costly to the Stormers, who have also been hit by a flu bug which passed through their camp this week, affecting players and management.”The guys pitched up for a training session and a meeting (on Tuesday) Cheap Amani Oruwariye Jersey , but we had to send half the management members home as well as a good few players, so it was pointless doing anything,” coach Robbie Fleck said.In other matches, the Jaguares host Queensland in Buenos Aires on Saturday and the unbeaten Melbourne Rebels, 3-0, play New South Wales at Sydney on Sunday.