The NFL sent around a helpful reminder of key dates for 2017 and beyond on Tuesday. From that list, here are three things different from past years.
July 17: Contract deadline for franchise players.
This one has local relevance. Normally, players whose teams have used the franchise tag on them have until July 15 to negotiate a long-term deal with their clubs. Since July 15 falls on a Saturday this year, that deadline has been extended to 4 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, July 17. What does that mean? Two more days of the Kirk Cousins contract watch.
September 2: Roster cutdown.
In previous years, teams trimmed their rosters to 75 players before the final preseason game. This year, there will be only one cutdown, so squads will go from 90 to 53 in one fell swoop by 4 p.m. This is also when teams will be required to put players on injured reserve or the physically unable to play list.
Mid-October: Players can be designated for return.
The key here is not the date, but that clubs can now designate two players for return from the injured reserve list when, in the past, they had only been able to designate one. Players designated for return must have made it to training camp healthy and been placed on injured reserve after 4 p.m. the day following the 53-man roster cutdown. Those players must also have been on a reserve list for six weeks before they can be designated for return.
A bonus date? March 6, 2018. That’s the deadline for clubs to designate transition or franchise tag players next year, just in case this Cousins thing ends up going a third round.
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