49ers offseason: Important dates on 2022 NFL calendar

The 49ers offseason is now upon us after the Niners were bounced from the playoffs in the NFC Championship game. Here are the dates you’ll want to bookmark.

Unfortunately, the San Francisco 49ers offseason came a little bit earlier than we otherwise would have hoped, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams in the 2022 NFC Championship game.

With that, the Niners’ entire focus shifts to the offseason, and it’d be one that’ll be of the utmost importance to Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.

San Francisco is expected to move quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo via trade this offseason in favor of its high-profile 2021 rookie, Trey Lance. But such a deal can’t take place officially until the start of the league new year.

That’s just one date 49ers fans will want to bookmark between now and the start of the 2022 regular season.

49ers offseason: Important dates for 2022 NFL calendar

The 2022 NFL new year won’t hit until March, but there are still some noteworthy events taking place between now and then:

• Feb. 3: East-West Shrine Bowl
• Feb. 5: Reese’s Senior Bowl
• Feb. 6: 2022 Pro Bowl
• Feb. 13: Super Bowl LVI

The East-West Shrine Bowl and the Reese’s Senior Bowl are important events for the 2022 NFL Draft, which will be held in April from Las Vegas, Nevada.

2022 NFL Draft calendar

• March 1 through 7: 2022 NFL Scouting Combine
• April 28 through 30: 2022 NFL Draft

The Niners don’t have a first-round pick in the 2022 draft, thanks to last year’s trade-up for Lance, so it’s likely they’re not overly active on day one of the draft, April 28.

There is always, of course, the chance Lynch and Co. trade back into Round 1, though.

2022 NFL free agency and start of league new year

San Francisco has a relatively large number of pending free agents who could hit the open market this spring if they’re not retained in one way or another, and many of them will likely want to test the market anyway.

The 49ers haven’t historically used franchise or transition tags a lot in recent years, and it doesn’t seem as if they’ll do so again this offseason.

• March 8: Deadline to apply franchise or transition tags
• March 14: Start of the “legal tampering” period where other teams can begin negotiations with pending free agents before their contracts officially expire
• March 16: 2022 NFL new year officially begins, and all player contracts from 2021 officially expire
  • Free agents can officially sign with new teams
  • Teams can officially engage in player trades
  • 2022 contracts go into effect

It’s during this phase of the 49ers offseason they’ll likely officially move Garoppolo, which could open up the door for some high-profile pending free agents, such as left guard Laken Tomlinson and nose tackle D.J. Jones, to be re-signed.

Later dates on 49ers offseason calendar

In accordance with the current collective bargaining agreement between the league and NFL Players Union, the official dates and schedules for minicamps, OTAs and training camps won’t be released until much later in the spring.

Typically, rookie minicamps will take place three weeks after the NFL Draft, while OTAs often begin towards the end of May, right around the time the 2022 NFL schedule is announced for the regular season. The Niners already know their opponents for next season, but the actual schedule won’t come out for a while.

Teams typically enjoy a break from the middle of June through the middle of July before training camp kicks off, and then the preseason will begin in August.

We can’t wait.