Bengals OTA, minicamp dates announced by NFL

The NFL has announced the offseason dates for all 32 teams.

The Bengals will begin their offseason workouts on April 17th, just more than one week before the 2017 NFL Draft kicks off.

The team will be organized team activities (OTAs) on May 30th. The first phase of OTAs will run until June 1st. By then, the Bengals’ draft class will be able to come to Cincinnati for their first NFL workouts with the veterans and get pointers from the current roster.

The team then gets a brief break before another OTA session from June 5-8. All of these workouts will be voluntary.

The Bengals will get another break before the start of mandatory minicamp from June 13-15. That will conclude OTAs until the team returns for the start of training camp in late July.

In case you need a refresher, here's how the NFL offseason works, per the collective bargaining agreement:

• Phase 1: Players can undergo strength and conditioning, rehabilitation from injuries and nothing else during this period. This phase lasts two weeks.
• Phase 2: On-field instruction and drills are allowed, but contact is not permitted and offensive and defensive players cannot be pitted against one another in drills. This phase lasts three weeks.
• Phase 3: Teams are permitted 10 days of OTAs. Again, contact isn't allowed but seven-on-seven, nine-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills are allowed. This phase lasts four weeks, and teams are also allowed to hold a mandatory veteran minicamp during this time.

Here is the entire schedule for the Bengals' OTAs:

First Day: April 17

OTA Offseason Workouts: May 23-25, May 30-31, June 1 and June 5-8

Mandatory Minicamp: June 13-15