April 09, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
A.J. Brown holds one finger in the air to display his enthusiasm for June 1.
As I stared blankly at my laptop for a few hours this morning trying to think of something to write, I took a peek at the NFL calendar, wondering when the next newsy thing on the horizon would be.
Maybe you're wondering the same? Anyway, below is a timeline of what's coming up in the NFL over the next few months, and how those events pertain to the Philadelphia Eagles.
• April 20: Clubs with returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programs: This isn't normally a noteworthy date on the NFL calendar, but it is this year for the Eagles. Will A.J. Brown be in attendance, and more importantly, also participating in physical workouts? If the Eagles intend on dealing Brown, they will not want him risking any sort of injury.
• April 23-25: NFL Draft: Those are three pretty big days on the NFL calendar (duh).
• May 1: Deadline for clubs to exercise fifth-year option for players selected in the first round of the 2023 Draft: We've covered this in-depth, but this applies to Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith, both of whom I expect to have their fifth-year options exercised by the team. We should note that the Eagles typically don't exercise fifth-year options until after the draft.
• Mid-May: NFL schedule release: The NFL hasn't announced a firm date for the schedule release this year, but it's usually on a Wednesday in mid-May. My best guess is that it will be May 13. Last year it was May 14, for example. We might also get announcements prior to this date on the rest of the international games, which could include the Eagles, most likely in London, if so.
• May 26-27, May 29, June 1-2, June 4: OTA offseason workouts. Again, is Brown practicing during that first OTA window? By this point in the offseason, might we find out that a deal has already been settled, with finalization to occur on June 1?
• June 1: A.J. Brown Day™️: Brown is scheduled to count for $23,393,497 on the Eagles' salary cap this season. If he is traded this offseason before June 1, Brown would instead count for $43,515,106 on the Eagles' cap in "dead money." The dead cap charge would still be $43,515,106 if he's traded after June 1, but $27,161,609 of it would count toward the 2027 cap. Though the Eagles have the cap space to trade Brown today if they wanted to, it is more likely that any such trade would happen after June 1.
• June 9-10: Mandatory minicamp.
• July 15: Franchise tag deadline: At 4:00 p.m. ET, deadline for any club that designated a Franchise Player to sign such player to a multiyear contract or extension. After this date, the player may sign only a one-year contract with his prior club for the 2026 season. This date does not apply to the Eagles, who haven't used their franchise tag in a very long time. But it is an interesting date for the Cowboys, who tagged WR George Pickens. I suppose it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.
• Mid-late July: Eagles training camp will begin. The Eagles will also conduct joint practices a few weeks into training camp in Foxboro, MA with the New England Patriots.
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