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NFL Announces Important Dates For 2017-2018

The NFL announced a series of important dates for the 2017 and 2018 seasons this week.

The NFL announced this week a list of key dates for the 2017 and 2018 seasons, and while there is a ton of information on that list, all of which can be found here,   below are a few of the most notable items, including how they might relate to the Seahawks:

August 3-6: Hall of Fame Weekend

Seahawks safety Kenny Easley will go into the Hall of Fame, making him the fourth player, along with Steve Largent, Walter Jones and Cortez Kennedy, to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio after spending his entire career in Seattle.

August 9-13: First Preseason Weekend

The Seahawks will travel to L.A. to open their preseason against the Chargers, making them the first team to play in the Chargers' temporary home, the StubHub Center.

September 2: Teams Must Reduce Rosters To A Maximum Of 53 Players By 1 p.m. PT

Unlike past years when teams have cut from 90 players to 75 prior to the fourth preseason game, then down to 53 players before the first regular season game, teams now trim their rosters from 90 to 53 in one day.

September 3: Teams May Establish Practice Squad Of 10 Players

The Seahawks have had a lot of success developing practice squad players into important members of the team, most notably a pair of 2016 starters, cornerback DeShawn Shead and receiver Jermaine Kearse, who began their career on the practice squad. So don't dismiss the significance of these players who missed the cut with the Seahawks or other teams a day earlier.

September 7-11: Regular Season Begins

For the third time in as many years, the Seahawks will travel to Green Bay during the regular season.

October 31: Trade Deadline

In-season trades in the NFL are rare, but if the Seahawks are going to make a splash—they did acquire Marshawn Lynch in an October trade in 2010—it will have to happen before their Week 9 game against Washington.

January 28: Pro Bowl In Orlando, Florida

The Seahawks sent seven players to the Pro Bowl last season, though like every contending team, they'd prefer to have players unavailable for this game because…

February 4: Super Bowl LII, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minnesota

The game will be played indoors, but the Super Bowl returns to a potentially cold-weather city for the first time since Super Bowl XLVIII in New Jersey. You probably don't need a reminder of who played in that game or how the game turned out.

February 20: First Day For Clubs To Designate Franchise Or Transition Players

The Seahawks haven't used either tag since placing the Franchise Tag on kicker Olindo Mare in 2010. But with a number of key players set to become free agents in 2018, could the tag come into play this time around? Teams have until March 6 to designate Franchise or Transition Players.

February 27-March 5: NFL Scouting Combine In Indianapolis

The Seahawks and the rest of the league converge in Indianapolis to evaluate some of the top draft-eligible talent ahead of the 2018 draft.

March 14: 2018 League Year Begins

Teams can start negotiating with free agents as of March 12, but the official start of free agency when contracts can be signed is at 1 p.m. PT on the 14th. As mentioned above, the Seahawks have a number of important players who, as of now, are set to become free agents after the 2017 season. Some deals can and likely will get done between now and March, but after a 2017 offseason in which the Seahawks had very few starters hit free agency, free agency could be a lot more interesting in 2018.

April 26-28: NFL Draft, Site TBD

And on April 27, the Seahawks pick for the first time having traded out of the first round. Kidding… sort of.

Check out photos from Day 3 of the Seahawks' mandatory minicamp at Renton's Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

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