Your Broncos-centric guide to navigating the NFL offseason

 

So have the NFL offseason (Orange &) Blues hit hard already?

Not optimistic about the Denver Nuggets’ playoff prospects with the team 12 games under .500 with 26 games to go?

Is your alma mater’s hoops squad already all but eliminated from March Madness, and it’s not even March yet?

Not thrilled about the prospects of the Colorado Rockies making a run at the franchise’s first 100-loss season?

Fear not as we have a Broncos-centric list of upcoming dates to add to your calendar and make the six-plus months until the 2016 season opener pass that much quicker.

Here we go …

Feb. 23-29 – The NFL converges on Indy for the annual Scouting Combine, and Broncos Country can park itself on the couch and scout out prospective fits for the Orange & Blue

March 1-8 – Peyton Manning’s $19 million salary will officially hit the Broncos’ books with the start of the new league year at 2 p.m. MT on March 9 so expect some sort of major announcement – retirement or otherwise – on that front during this week between the end of the Combine and the official kickoff of the 2016 offseason

March 1 – The deadline to designate franchise players arrives at 2 p.m. Most definitely expect to see the name of Super Bowl MVP Von Miller on this list barring a surprise announcement of a long-term deal over the next week

March 7-9 – Clubs can begin negotiating with the representatives of unsigned and unrestricted free agents across the league, and it’ll be in the Broncos’ best interests to have any of the key 16 UFAs they want to re-sign locked up before the open market drives up the price

March 8 – A must have for Broncos Country: The always-excellent NFL Films releases the Broncos Super Bowl 50 champions Blu-ray/DVD. Here’s the trailer to get psyched

March 9 – Havoc officially begins at 2 p.m. MT, and the 2015 Super Bowl champs will never be the same

April 4-16 – We know the Broncos, as those defending Super Bowl champs, will open the 2016 NFL regular season with a home game on the first Thursday after Labor Day – in this case Sept. 8. And while the rest of the schedule won’t be released until later in April, expect the league to set the table and whet appetites with an announcement as to who the Broncos will face sometime in these two weeks. (My early guess is it’ll be the Chiefs)

April 17-23 – A year ago, the full 2015 NFL regular-season schedule was released nine days before the start of the draft. If the league follows the same itinerary, look for the unveiling this week, and Broncos Country can start scheduling its fall life around the magical dates

April 18 – Clubs with returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programs. Unlike a season ago, that list includes the Orange & Blue

April 28-30 – Of course, it’s the NFL Draft, back in Chicago for the second straight year. And thanks to the Patriots’ DeflateGate penalties, the defending champs are scheduled to pick 31^st in the first round instead of 32^nd. Address your thank-you notes and social-media salutes to The Deflator.

May 20-23 – The rookie minicamps can be held on either of the two weekends following the draft, but this is the first possible date for Denver’s inaugural organized team activity (OTA) session, when the media flock to Dove Valley to provide the first full glimpses of the 2016 Broncos

June 1 – It’s the deadline for clubs to extend contract tenders to their restricted free agents and the unofficial start of a late wave of free-agent signings

Mid-June – The team is permitted only one mandatory minicamp, and that usually takes place in mid-June. And with most of the 2015 Broncos gathering, it’s a prime opportunity to hold a ring ceremony as the world champs officially get their bling.

July 15 – The deadline for teams signing a tagged franchise player to a multi-year contract arrives at 2 p.m. MT. Afterward, that player will play on a one-year deal for 2016. Will Miller and the Broncos be scrambling to get a deadline deal done like Demaryius Thomas did a year ago?

July 28-31 – Clubs are permitted to open training camps 15 days prior to their first preseason contests. And working backward from the start of the regular season on Sept. 8, that puts us in this date range. Think a team coming off a Super Bowl title will see a bump in fan attendance at camp? Be prepared …

Aug. 11-14 – The likely date range for the Broncos’ 2016 preseason opener. Hey, it’s the return of live Orange & Blue football!

Sept. 8 – Sometime around 6:15 or so, it’ll be time to raise a championship banner and defend the crown. Will it be Brock Osweiler quarterbacking the defending champs? Game on …