In what has felt like a really long offseason already, will soon be coming to an end. At least for the players anyway. On Monday, the Green Bay Packers announced that their offseason program will begin next week, April 8th, and run through June 13th.

We are still four weeks away from the NFL draft which is April 25- 27, but this will officially mark the start of the 2019 season.

The offseason program for new head coach Matt Lafleur will be conducted in four phases.

  • First day: April 8th – Strength and Conditioning work
  • Voluntary Mini-camp: April 23 – 25
  • Organized Team Activities: May 20 – 21; May 23; May 28 – 29; May 31; and June 3 – 6
  • Mandatory Mini-camp: June 11 – 13

Teams with new heads are able to start their offseason programs as soon as the calendar changes to April. New coach Lafleur has elected to wait a week. If they would have opened up this week, they would have been required to take a one-week league-mandated break. This way they avoided having to do that.

A benefit to having a new head coach is that teams can hold one extra work out session which is the voluntary mini-camp for veterans that is held right before the NFL draft.

The only offseason program not announced is Rookie Orientation, which typically happens the weekend after the draft. We can expect that to be held in early May.

The team did not announce any open practices to the public. In the past, the Packers have had all mini-camp practices open to the public, as well as one practice a week during Organized Team Activities. That word should come down as we get closer to the mini-camps and OTA’s. The open practices would allow fans the opportunity to get their first glance of Matt Lafleur and the ravamped defense.

The 2019 season is officially here, as the road back to the playoffs begins next week, Monday, April 8th.

Anthony Haag is a writer for PackersTalk.com. He has been a Packers fan since the day he was born and truly bleeds green and gold. He makes annual visits to Lambeau Field and has attended his fair share of games. You can follow Anthony on Twitter at @anthony_haag