INDIANAPOLIS – Another NFL offseason has begun at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center.
The roster is beginning to grow towards 90 players as the evaluation period of current, and potential, players dominate this time of year.
Here are some key dates to keep in mind during the 2015 offseason:January 24: Senior Bowl, Mobile, Alabama
* * -The Senior Bowl is the best collection of talent at a college all-star game each year. Former NFL GM Phil Savage runs the show down in Mobile with NFL staffs coaching each roster. Colts lineman Jack Mewhort participated in last year's Senior Bowl.
January 25: Pro Bowl, Glendale, Arizona
-With the recent additions of linebacker D'Qwell Jackson and safety Mike Adams to this year's Pro Bowl, the Colts will have seven representatives in Arizona (Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton, Vontae Davis, Pat McAfee and Adam Vinatieri) That's the most for the team since the 2009 season.
February 17-23: NFL Scouting Combine, Indianapolis, Indiana
-NFL headquarters will call Indianapolis home for a week in February. While the in-person observing of over 300 NFL prospects is the main draw for personnel people, nearly every head coach and general manager is made available to the media during this week.March 2: Prior to 4:00 p.m. EST, deadline for clubs to designate Franchise or Transition Players
-Last year around a handful of teams used the franchise tag. The Colts were not one of them, but they did tag punter Pat McAfee in 2013 before getting a five-year deal done with the Pro Bowler last offseason.March 7-10: 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 2014 contracts at 4:00 p.m. EST , on March 10. However, a contract cannot be executed with a new club until 4:00 p.m. EST, on March 10 (the start of the new league year, free agency).
-Circle your calendars for Tuesday, March 10 when the free agency rumors turn into ink on paper. The Colts acted quickly last year by re-upping with Vontae Davis. The signing of Hakeem Nicks came later in the week.March 21-22: Super Regional Combine, Phoenix, Arizona
-The Super Combine is still in its infant stages, but the Colts have scoured it for some prospects. With a 90-man roster all throughout the offseason, events like this one in Phoenix allows for some flexible options at the back end of a team's roster.March 22-25: Annual Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona
-Among the normal NFL announcements that come out of these meetings, coaches and general mangers typically speak to the media at the event.April 20: Clubs with returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programs
-Chuck Pagano mentioned the date of April 20 as the start of the Colts offseason program during his Monday press conference. The offseason programs usually last nine weeks with a three-day minicamp in mid-June culminating the first on-the-field work of 2015.April 30-May 2: 2015 NFL Draft, Chicago, Illinois
-The draft moves to the Windy City this year. The Colts will select in the No. 29 position this year. The Colts will draft in that spot in each of the first six rounds. The team also has an additional pick in the sixth round from trading cornerback Marcus Burley to Seattle in August. The team's seventh round pick will go to San Francisco (Cam Johnson trade) but the Colts acquired Dallas' seventh rounder via the trade of Caesar Rayford in 2013.May 8-11 or May 15-18: Teams can hold their three-day post-draft rookie minicamp.
-The 2015 rookie class will come together during minicamp with just themselves working with coaches. The undrafted rookies will also be present with the roster nearing the 90-man point.Mid-July: Teams can begin their Training Camp no earlier than 15 days prior to the club's first schedule preseason game or July 15, whichever is later.
-The Colts will be back in Anderson for a sixth straight year. Look for a Training Camp date to be set in stone once the 2015 NFL regular season schedule is announced (that typically comes in mid-to-late April).
