NFL Training Camp Schedule 2025: All Key Dates to Know

The 2025 NFL season will kick off on September 4. There are still a few months of summer remaining until then, and from here on out every team around the league will be participating in training camp to prepare for the season.

Training camp is an important time for the players. It's a gradual ramp-up period before the full speed of regular season football. It helps new teammates get acclimated with the players they'll go to war with. It's an absolutely crucial period for coaches to install new schemes and plays; for coaches hired this offseason, it's also critical to introduce a new culture and way of doing things.

For fans, it's not quite as important. But it's still fun to keep track of the goings-on around the league during training camp. There are always notable developments from the summer months that will impact the upcoming season. For many, the only thing that matters about training camp is that it means football season is near.

To that end, there are a few key dates to keep track of over the next month and a half. While these dates have great importance for NFL teams they mostly serve as measures of progress for fans to keep track of as the season draws closer.

Here are all the most important dates fans need to know as training camp gets underway.

NFL Training Camp Schedule

Training camp start dates

Training camp dates vary by team across the NFL. But there is a general range in which every team reports to camp. By July 23 all training camps have begun around the league.

Broadly speaking, training camp begins anywhere from July 15 to July 23. The Baltimore Ravens had the earliest report date this year right on July 15 but that was for rookies only; the vets didn't have to show up until July 22. The Pittsburgh Steelers enjoyed the latest start date across the board, having rookies and vets show up on July 23 to kick off camp.

A full list of every team's start date can be found here.

First preseason game

The first preseason game, also known as the Hall of Fame game, is scheduled for Thursday, July 31. Kickoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET.

The two teams featured will be the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Chargers. The Hall of Fame game is the first game of the preseason each year, which to many fans means it is the unofficial start of the new football season. As one might be able to tell from the moniker, the game is always held in Canton, Ohio, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Preseason schedule

Once the Hall of Fame game is in the books, the rest of the preseason will commence. Just about a week later, anyway. August 7 is the first non-Hall of Fame preseason day, with three games slated to take place that day. Friday, August 8 and Saturday, August 9 will feature numerous games; Sunday, August 19 is scheduled for only two games but it counts as Sunday football.

Week 2 of the preseason will begin on Friday, August 15 and end on Monday, August 18.

Week 3 will kick off on Thursday, August 21st and wrap up on Saturday, August 23rd. At that point the final countdown to the regular season can start.

Cut-down day

To give full background, NFL teams are permitted to roster 90 players throughout training camp. This allows for a bunch of players to get a shot they may otherwise struggle to earn if the numbers were more limited. However, they can't do so forever. At some point they have to whittle it down to the regular-season limit of 53 active players on a team's roster.

For training camp in 2025, that day is August 26. By 4 p.m. ET on August 26, every team must employ only 53 players. That means there will be a huge wave of players getting released in the lead-up to the final hour.

Last day of training camp

While teams are allowed to report whenever they want, the NFL sets the date for the last day of training camp. Not every team will necessarily practice until the final buzzer but many will.

The last day of training camp in 2025 will be August 31. Then the regular season begins.

Football is back!