Months away from their 20th season in Baltimore, the Ravens will officially return to work later this month to begin preparations for the 2015 season.
Head coach John Harbaugh and his staff, which includes new offensive coordinator Marc Trestman and several other newcomers and changes, will begin the first phase of the workout program on April 20. This portion is limited to two weeks of conditioning and strength training as well as physical rehabilitation. Many notable players and young players alike have been present on the first day in past offseasons.
The second phase of the offseason schedule spans the next three weeks of the program. On-field workouts that include individual player instruction and drills as well as team practices conducted on a “separate” basis are permitted, but no live contact or team offense against team defense drills are allowed.
The final phase of the offseason program consists of the next four weeks. During this period, 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 allowed.
Nearly all workouts are considered “voluntary” by definition, but it’s privately expected that players attend regularly. In recent years, Harbaugh has praised his players for their attendance for offseason workouts.
The league’s collective bargaining agreement permits one mandatory minicamp for veteran players, which may occur during the third phase of the offseason. New head coaches are allowed to hold an additional voluntary minicamp for veterans.
Each club may also conduct a rookie football development program for a period of seven weeks, which may begin on May 11. During this period, no activities may be held on weekends except one post-draft rookie minicamp, which may be conducted on either the first or second weekend after the draft.
The date of the post-draft rookie minicamp will be released at a later time.
Below is the Ravens’ 2015 offseason training program schedule that was released Thursday by the NFL:
First Day: April 20
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 26-28, June 1-3, June 8-11
Mandatory Minicamp: June 16-18
