Few things are concrete at this point, but here is a timetable that Patriots fans might find useful as they start to turn their attention toward next season.
Jan. 30: Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and his staff will head to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. Eight Patriots have been selected to play, including quarterback Tom Brady, wide receiver Wes Welker, left tackle Matt Light, left guard Logan Mankins, defensive lineman Vince Wilfork, linebacker Jerod Mayo, cornerback Devin McCourty and safety Brandon Meriweather.
Feb. 6: The NFL is expected to announce its league MVP prior to the Super Bowl, and that award will likely go to Brady.
March 3: The league's collective-bargaining agreement expires. Belichick said Monday there could be some interim plans put in place to keep each team's offseason on track, but he wasn't certain. Either way, this is one of the most important dates in league history.
Mid-March: The Patriots will report for voluntary offseason workouts, which began March 15 last year and run for about two months. The sessions usually last a few hours, and players must report to four per week to earn that week's compensation. This is when the hardest workers earn those front-row parking spots that you hear so much about.
April 28-30: The NFL draft takes place in New York City, and the Patriots are loaded at the top with three of the first 33 selections (Nos. 17, 28 and 33). The draft will take place regardless of the labor situation.
May 6-8 (tentative): The Patriots will conduct their weekend rookie camp at Gillette, which typically takes place the week after the draft.
Late May: The Patriots will report for their voluntary organized team activities, which are a skeleton version of training camp with practices, meetings and film study. They had 12 OTAs last year that spread out over three weeks. Typically, the first week is for younger players, while the veterans join up for the second and third weeks.
Mid-June: The Patriots will conduct their mandatory minicamp. Last year's camp ran from June 15-17. After this, the players will get a month and a half off before reporting for the 2011 season.
Late July: Finally, the Patriots will report for training camp and officially begin preparations for the 2011 season. Last year's camp opened July 25 for rookies and July 29 for veterans.
