The Indianapolis Colts have announced the schedule for the team’s offseason program. The organized team activities will begin on April 20th, just 18 days from now.
The offseason programs extends for eight weeks through June 11th. After that, the team won’t reconvene until training camp in late July at Anderson University (for which a date has not yet been released).
The @Colts 9-week offseason program starts April 20, concludes the week of June 8th with a veteran mini-camp. Rookie mini-camp is May 8-10.
— Kevin Bowen (@KBowen1070) April 2, 2015
The Colts will have just 10 days after the teams gets together before the NFL Draft. The Draft runs from April 30 – May 2. The team will hold its rookie mini-camp May 8-10. The first media availability will be on April 22.
Official OTAs will start on on May 18 and consist of 10 sessions. There will also be an open practice on Wednesday June 10 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Offseason activities are strictly governed by the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. From the CBA:
"Phase One: Consists of the first two weeks of the program, with activities limited to strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation.Phase Two: Consists of the next three weeks of the program. On-field workouts may include individual player instruction and drills as well as team practice conducted on a “separates” basis. No live contact or team offense versus team defense drills are permitted.Phase Three: Consists of the next four weeks of the program. Teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or OTAs. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills are permitted."
The terms were negotiated in order to lessen the impact on players bodies and help reduce offseason injuries. This will be the first chance the Colts coaches have to take a better look at how certain players are recovering from their injuries.
Other key NFL dates include the Rookie Symposium from June 21-27 in Aurora, Ohio and Mid-July, when teams can open up for training camp in preparation for the start of the new season.