The NFL has announced some important dates for the rest of the 2024 offseason, the upcoming regular season and a number of key dates in the 2025 offseason as well.

NFL Roster Cuts & Trade Deadline

The league changed its policy towards roster cuts and will continue to have just one roster cutdown date, which will be on Tuesday, August 27 as teams must pare down to 53 players. Each team will have until 4:00 p.m. EST on that date to finalize its roster.

The Bucs are loaded at several deep positions, notably at wide receiver and outside linebacker, so head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht will likely have some real tough decisions to make.

The cuts come 12 days before the start of the regular season where the Bucs begin at home against the Washington Commanders on September 8.

Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Adam Slivon/PR

Teams may begin claiming players off the waiver wire on Wednesday, August 28 at noon EST and assemble a practice squad consisting of 17 players, as long as one player qualifies as an international player.

At midnight EST on September 5, the Top 51 Rule expires for all clubs and each team must be salary cap compliant.

In terms of other dates that could directly impact NFL teams, this year’s trade deadline has been pushed back a week. All trading ends for 2024 on Tuesday, November 5 at 4:00 p.m. EST.

The Bucs haven’t made an in-season trade since October of 2020 when they acquired defensive tackle Steve McLendon and a seventh-round pick from the Jets in exchange for a sixth-rounder. But trades during the season have become more common. One can never rule out general manager Jason Licht making a move if Tampa Bay needs to add more talent in-season.

NFL Dates For 2025

The league has also set some of its important dates for the 2025 offseason. The East-West Shrine Bowl will take place on Thursday, January 30 followed by the Senior Bowl, which kicks off on Saturday, February 1.

On February 18, teams can designate transition and franchise players for the upcoming season. The deadline for selecting those players is 4:00 p.m. EST on March 4.

Bucs general manager Jason Licht and director of player personnel Rob McCartney – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The NFL Scouting Combine takes place from February 24 – March 3 in Indianapolis. College pro days can begin on March 4, which is also the first day that teams are allowed to host Top 30 pre-draft visits. That period ends on April 16. Teams are allowed to contact draft prospects via phone or video from March 4 – April 23.

The league’s legal tampering period in free agency begins at noon EST on March 10 and concludes at 4:00 p.m. ET on March 12. Unrestricted free agency officially begins at 4:00 p.m. ET on March 12 and the Top 51 rule as it applies to the salary cap takes effect. The NFL trading window is also open on March 12.

The 2025 Annual League Meeting will be held from March 30 – April 2 at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida.

On April 7, teams with new head coaches may begin offseason workout programs. All other teams with returning head coaches can begin offseason programs on April 21.

The 2025 NFL Draft will take place in Green Bay, Wisconsin on April 24-26.

May 1 is the deadline for teams to exercise fifth-year options for players selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Teams may elect to hold their one three-day post-draft rookie mini-camp from Friday through Sunday or Saturday through Monday on one of the two weekends following the draft – either May 2-5 or May 9-12.