The 2014 NFL season will officially be in the books at the conclusion of tomorrow's Super Bowl.
Baltimore's front office and coaching staff have already started the process of turning the page to 2015, and that will continue over the next several weeks.
The offseason hardly equates to down time in the NFL, as teams have to build their coaching staffs, work on re-signing free agents, bring in new veterans and scout the incoming crop of rookies. The Ravens still have plenty of work ahead, and we'll be here to stay on top of all the news throughout the offseason.
To get an idea of what's ahead the next few months, here's an outline of the all the key offseason dates:
Feb. 16: First day to assign the franchise tag to impending free agents. The Ravens have opted not to use the franchise tag the last few years. The team's top unrestricted free agents this year are running back Justin Forsett and wide receiver Torrey Smith.
Feb. 17-23: National NFL Scouting Combine, Indianapolis. The top college prospects from around the country will come to Lucas Oil Stadium to meet with team executives and compete in a series of drills.
Feb. 28: NFL Regional Combine, Under Armour Performance Center. Local players who aren't invited to the National Scouting Combine will still have a chance to work out in front of the Baltimore scouts.
March 2: Deadline for NFL teams to assign the franchise tag to players.
March 7-10: Teams are allowed to contact and negotiate with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents. This three-day window was introduced two years ago to allow free agents to talk with prospective suitors without any sort of tampering charges.
March 10: Free agency opens at 4 p.m. All unrestricted free agents who aren't signed or franchised by this time hit the open market. Teams must also submit qualifying offers to restricted free agents before this deadline.
March 22-25: Owner's meetings, Phoenix. League officials and owners from all 32 teams will go to Arizona for the annual league meetings to vote on any rules changes and discuss big-picture strategy heading into the new season.
April 20: Offseason workouts can begin. The Ravens can open their offseason conditioning program, where players are allowed to use the team-sponsored workouts and limited meetings. Rules still prohibit the amount of interactions players and coaches are able to have during this time.
April 24: Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets. Another team could try to pry away one of the Ravens' restricted free agents with an alluring contract offer, and the player would have to sign that offer sheet from another team by this date. Baltimore's restricted free agents are kicker Justin Tucker, safety Will Hill, defensive lineman Christo Bilukidi and cornerback Anthony Levine.
April 29: Deadline for the prior club to exercise right of first refusal. Teams can keep their restricted free agents even if another team tries to sign them to an offer sheet, as long as the prior team tops the contract offer from the new club.
April 30-May 2: NFL Draft, Chicago.
May 8-11: Teams can hold their rookie minicamp. The Ravens have not yet announced their offseason camp schedule, but this is the first weekend they are allowed to hold the rookie minicamp.
May 18-20: NFL spring league meetings, San Francisco.
June 21-27: NFL's rookie symposium, Aurora, Ohio.
July 15: Deadline for players who were assigned the franchise tag to sign a multi-year contract extension. After this date, the player must play the 2015 season under the one-year franchise tag with the corresponding salary based on his position.
Mid-July: Training camp begins.
