The year 2026 has a bit of a theme for the Arizona Cardinals. Because they will be in the Hall of Fame Game in August, they will get to start training camp earlier. Because they have a new head coach in Mike LaFleur, the offseason program begins earlier, too.
Teams with new head coaches get an earlier start to the offseason program, allowing for extra time to implement new systems. They will also have an extra voluntary minicamp.
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The team announced the dates of the offseason program.
Important dates for Arizona Cardinals’ offseason program
April 7: Offseason strength and conditioning program begins
April 21-23: Voluntary veteran minicamp
April 23-25: 2024 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh, PA
May 18-19: Voluntary Organized Team Activities
May 21: Voluntary Organized Team Activity
May 26-27: Voluntary Organized Team Activity
May 29: Voluntary Organized Team Activity
June 1-2: Voluntary Organized Team Activities
June 4: Voluntary Organized Team Activity
June 8-10: Minicamp for veterans and rookies
Because they get the earlier start, there is an interesting thing with their schedule. Typically, OTAs are scheduled over three weeks. Teams can hold 10 of them. They often are done with three one week, three another and four in one. LaFleur has nine scheduled over six weeks.
Spring work will close June 10 and the players will be off until they report for training camp.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Arizona Cardinals announce dates for offseason program