Welcome everyone to the 2017-2018 NFL Thread
Where we discuss the 2017-2018 NFL season from the legal tampering days of Free Agency in March, all the way to the Superbowl of this season on the 4th of February 2018 in Minnesota, with all the news and all the games that go on in between.
Thread Rules:
There aren't many specific rules in this thread other than the normal forum rules that apply everywhere. We expect people to follow the spirit of the thread and the forum, mostly by respecting that every one has a favorite team and is entitled to cheer for them. Some banter is fine, insulting and trolling is not.
We also ask to keep the discussion largely centered around the current season and to leave in depth discussions about which team or player from yesteryear was better than which other team/player to threads made to discuss such a topic.
Let's start off with some things from last year's thread:
Links to previous seasons threads:
2010-2013 thread: link
2013-2014 thread: link
2014-2015 thread: link
2015-2016 thread: link
2016-2017 thread: link
Some of the numbers of the NFL thread over the years:
Total pages:
2014: 428
2015: 662
2016: 506
Total posts:
2014: 8,547
2015: 13,238
2016: 10,119
Posts per day:
2014: 23,54
2015: 36,56
2016: 27,72
Top 10 posters of the last thread:
Interesting facts of the 2017-2018 season:
This will be the 98th season of the NFL.
This will be the Cincinnati Bengals 50th season.
This will be the Cleveland Browns 65th season in the NFL.
This will be the Pittsburgh Steelers 85th season in the NFL.
This will be the Indianapolis Colts 65th season in the NFL.
This will be the Philadelphia Eagles 85th season in the NFL.
This will be the Washington Redskins 85th season in the NFL.
This will be the Los Angeles Rams 80th season in the NFL.
This will be the Arizona Cardinals 30th season in Arizona.
This will be Baltimore Ravens HC John Harbaugh's 10th season as a HC.
This will be Cincinnati Bengals HC Marvin Lewis's 15th season as a HC.
This will be the first season the Atlanta Falcons play in their new stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
This will be the 20th season the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play in their current stadium, Raymond James Stadium.
There will be 4 games in London this year. The Jacksonville Jaguars will host the Baltimore Ravens at Wembley Stadium in Week 3, and the Miami Dolphins will host the New Orleans Saints at Wembley Stadium in Week 4. The Cleveland Browns will host the Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Rams will host the Arizona Cardinals at Twickenham Stadium in weeks 7 and 8; exact dates for these two games have not been announced yet.
There's going to be another game in Mexico this year, but little details have come out so far. It will be Patriots at the Raiders, but nothing about the location or the date is known. This is the second year in a row that the Raiders play a home game in Mexico.
Christmas is on a Monday this year, so Christmas Eve should have a full slate of games. There's some question about the Sunday Night game though (it was moved in previous years) and the Monday Night game (which was not moved previously).
New Year's Eve is on a Sunday, and the NFL will play it's final slate of games of the season that day. It's unclear what the exact times of these games will be.
The season will end with the 52nd Superbowl, Superbowl LII, in US Bank Stadium in Minnesota on February 4th, 2018.
Superbowl odds for this season:
So, what can we expect in this coming year?
2017-2018 League Calendar:
March
March 7
Clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2016 Player Contracts at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 9. However, a contract cannot be executed with a new club until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on March 9.
March 9
Free agency begins. Link to Free Agency overview posts: NFC AFC
The 2017 league year begins, and free agency opens. By 4pm ET, teams must make decisions on player options, submit qualifying offers to restricted free agents, submit minimum tenders to exclusive rights free agents, and be under the 2017 salary cap. Trades can be made and free agents can be signed after 4pm ET.
March 26-29
Annual League Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona
This is likely where rules changes are first brought up and discussed.
April
April ??: NFL 2016-2017 schedule released. Usually around the middle of the month. It's been 17th to 23rd the last few years. It's usually announced when it will happen a few days in advance, and there's usually a whole show and dance around the release its self on release day.
April 21
Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets.
April 26
Deadline for previous club to exercise right of first refusal (ie. match offer sheets) on restricted free agents.
April 27-29
The NFL draft will be held in Philadelphia.
Draft overview post: link
Round 1 overview post: link
Round 2 overview post: link
Round 3 overview post: link
Round 4 overview post: link
Round 5 overview post: link
Round 6 overview post: link
Round 7 overview post: link
Draft order: https://nflcommunications.com/Docume...0(Revised).pdf
May
May 5-8: First weekend after the NFL Draft: clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday.
May 9: Rookie Football Development Program Begins.
May 12-15: Second weekend after the NFL Draft: clubs may elect to hold their one three-day post-draft rookie minicamp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday.
May 22-24: 2014 Owners Spring meeting, Chicago, Illinois
This is likely where proposed rules changes are voted on.
June
June 1: Deadline for prior club to send “June 1 Tender” to its unsigned Restricted Free Agents who received a qualifying offer for a Right of First Refusal Only in order for such player to be subject to the CBA’s “June 15 Tender” provision.
June 2: For any player removed from the club’s roster or whose contract is assigned via waivers or trade on or after June 2, any unamortized signing bonus amounts for future years will be included fully in Team Salary at the start of the 2017 League Year.
June 15: Deadline for club to withdraw qualifying offer to Restricted Free Agents and still retain exclusive negotiating rights by substituting “June 15 Tender” of one-year contract at 110 percent of the player’s prior-year Paragraph 5 Salary (with all other terms of his prior-year contract carried forward unchanged).
July
July 15: At 4:00 p.m., New York time, 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 2016 season, and such contract cannot be extended until after the club’s last regular season game.
Mid-July:
Training Camp
Clubs are permitted to open preseason training camp for rookies and first-year players beginning seven days prior to the club’s earliest permissible mandatory reporting date for veteran players. Veteran players (defined as a player with at least one pension-credited season) other than quarterbacks or “injured players” (as defined in CBA Article 21, Section 6) may report to a club’s preseason training camp no earlier than 15 days prior to the club’s first scheduled preseason game or July 15, whichever is later.
Veteran quarterbacks and injured players may be required to report to the club’s preseason training camp no earlier than five days immediately prior to the mandatory reporting date for all other veteran players, provided the club has already opened (or simultaneously opens) its official preseason training camp for all rookies and first-year players.
A three-day acclimation period will apply to players who are on a Club’s roster up to and including the mandatory veteran reporting date. Players who join the roster after that date may practice (including wearing pads) and play immediately after passing a physical.
July 22*: Signing Period ends for unrestricted Free Agents to whom a “May 9 Tender” was made by prior club. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, prior club has exclusive negotiating rights.
* or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later.
July 22: Signing Period ends for Transition Players with outstanding tenders. After this date and until 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the Tuesday following the 10th weekend of the regular season, prior club has exclusive negotiating rights.
August
August 3rd - Hall of Fame game - Arizona Cardinals vs Dallas Cowboys in Canton Ohio in the Hall of Fame stadium
August 5th - Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Rest of the Pre-season games: list of games per week, exact dates and times coming later: LINK
Roster cutdowns
September
September 7th, Thursday: Opening day, the Superbowl winner New England Patriots open the regular season
September 10th, Sunday: Opening week-end, the first full slate of Sunday games of the regular season
Some ongoing discussion from the old thread:
Lastly:
We hope everyone that likes football will join us as we go on the journey to learn who will eventually follow last year's winners the New England Patriots as the 2017-2018 NFL Superbowl LII winners.
Have at it, ladies and gentlemen!
signed, the mods.