{"id":856585,"date":"2026-04-06T08:45:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T08:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/856585\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T08:45:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T08:45:51","slug":"some-nfl-teams-begin-offseason-work-this-week-broncos-will-wait-a-while-denver-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/856585\/","title":{"rendered":"Some NFL teams begin offseason work this week; Broncos will wait a while \u2013 Denver Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday, one of the teams expected to fight with the Broncos for AFC supremacy will begin its offseason conditioning work.<\/p>\n

The Baltimore Ravens will dive in, beneficiaries of an NFL rule that allows teams with new head coaches to gather two weeks earlier than anyone else. Other clubs with new coaches \u2014 including the Buffalo Bills, defeated by the Broncos in the AFC divisional playoffs \u2014 will begin work Tuesday. The same is true for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who won the AFC North last season and will be on Denver\u2019s schedule.<\/p>\n

Everyone else in the NFL will gather for team-organized workouts<\/a> on April 20 or 21.<\/p>\n

The Broncos will wait two weeks longer, until May 4. Why? Because last season ran so long.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, we went three weeks further into the season. Our players won\u2019t be in our building until May, the first Monday in May,\u201d Broncos coach Sean Payton said.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 I don\u2019t want them to feel like they were just here. So, we\u2019ve done that before. I think it\u2019s important, and I think the players appreciate it because they were just here.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while 30 NFL teams will kick off Phase 3 of organized team activities \u2014 the on-field work that allows teams to conduct practices with 11-on-11 and seven-on-seven offense-vs.-defense work \u2014 in May, Denver is one of three teams that will wait until June, and by kicking off on June 2, will be the last of the 32 teams to begin.<\/p>\n

Further, while all teams can use Phases 1 and 2 for team and position-group meetings, Payton\u2019s Broncos won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of May will just be weightlifting. You\u2019ll see us on the field in June,\u201d Payton said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have two weeks of OTAs and a week of minicamp.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when June arrives, the Broncos won\u2019t use all of their potential on-field days \u2014 as was the case last year, too<\/a>.<\/p>\n

TEN TEAMS HAVE FEWER DAYS THAN THE BRONCOS<\/p>\n

The thing is, Denver isn\u2019t even on the cutting edge when it comes to slicing offseason days. With 10 days of offseason work, the Broncos come in below the maximum, but they don\u2019t have the shortest offseason.<\/p>\n

Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle all have just nine days of Phase 3 offseason work scheduled. This is becoming more of a trend, as teams prioritize offseason rest and conditioning over on-field work.<\/p>\n

The Broncos can\u2019t quibble with the results that followed last year\u2019s truncated offseason; the league\u2019s best record and the team\u2019s deepest advance in the postseason in a decade. If not for Bo Nix\u2019s fractured ankle<\/a>, a Super Bowl appearance seemed likely.<\/p>\n

Correlation doesn\u2019t necessarily mean causation, but for the Broncos, there\u2019s no reason to change.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Follow @MaseDenver<\/a><\/p>\n

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