The key to each NFL team’s training camp
The agonizingly long time without pro football will end this week as NFL teams report to training camp. Here’s a brief look at what each team is facing.
The reporting days used here are for veterans. For some teams, rookies report earlier.
Arizona Cardinals: Wednesday, Glendale, Arizona
Key story line: The Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury as their coach and drafted dual-threat quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick. That could very well be an exciting combination.
Atlanta Falcons: Monday, Flowery Branch, Georgia
Key story line: Atlanta spent $80.3 million on its offensive line in the offseason in an attempt to improve a protection unit that allowed 108 quarterback hits and 42 sacks. Now it’s time to put all the pieces together.
Baltimore Ravens: Wednesday, Owings Mills, Maryland
Key story line: The Ravens have entrusted their offense completely to Lamar Jackson, who last year led them to their first playoff appearance since 2014. Building on that success is a must.
Buffalo Bills: Wednesday, Rochester, New York
Key story line: Quarterback Josh Allen spent much of his rookie season running for his life and throwing to receivers who specialized in dropping his passes. He needs some help.
Carolina Panthers: Wednesday, Spartanburg, South Carolina
Key story line: The Panthers shut down quarterback Cam Newton toward the end of last season, and he had his shoulder surgically cleaned out in January. Is he back to full health?
Chicago Bears: Wednesday, Bourbonnais, Illinois
Key story line: With a new defensive coordinator (former Colts coach Chuck Pagano) and a more seasoned quarterback in Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago will look to build on its first division title and playoff appearance in eight seasons.
Cincinnati Bengals: Friday, Cincinnati
Key story line: For the first time since 2002, Cincinnati will open training camp without Marvin Lewis as its coach. Former Rams assistant Zac Taylor, who’s all of 36 years old, takes the helm.
Cleveland Browns: Wednesday, Berea, Ohio
Key story line: Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr. and Coach Freddie Kitchens are generating an absurd amount of optimism in Cleveland.
Dallas Cowboys: Friday, Oxnard, California
Key story line: Will running back Ezekiel Elliott hold out? Is it Super Bowl or bust for longtime coach Jason Garrett, who’s in the final year of his contract?
Denver Broncos: Last week, Englewood, Colorado
Key story line: Von Miller and Co. have a defensive-minded head coach now in former Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Denver also will find out if Joe Flacco has anything left.
Detroit Lions: Wednesday, Allen Park, Michigan
Key story line: Detroit limped to a 6-10 record in Matt Patricia’s first year as coach. Another season with double-digit losses might mean there won’t be a third year.
Green Bay Packers: Wednesday, De Pere, Wisconsin
Key story line: Aaron Rodgers has now gone two straight seasons without a playoff berth. New Coach Matt LaFleur will attempt to right the ship.
Houston Texans: Wednesday, Houston
Key story line: The Texans became the first team since 1998 to make the playoffs after an 0-3 start. Keeping quarterback Deshaun Watson upright after he was sacked an NFL-high 62 times will be a point of emphasis.
Indianapolis Colts: Wednesday, Westfield, Indiana
Key story line: With a mix of young (guard Quenton Nelson and linebacker Darius Leonard were both AP All-Pros as rookies) and seasoned (quarterback Andrew Luck thrived in his return from injury), there’s plenty of optimism in Indy.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Wednesday, Jacksonville, Florida
Key story line: Nick Foles replaces Blake Bortles as quarterback, but the once-vaunted defense is rebuilding.
Kansas City Chiefs: Friday, St. Joseph, Missouri
Key story line: Are the silly numbers put up by quarterback Patrick Mahomes sustainable? Can the Chiefs improve one of the league’s worst defenses with a new coordinator in Steve Spagnuolo and a host of new faces?
Los Angeles Chargers: Wednesday, Costa Mesa, California
Key story line: Running back Melvin Gordon might hold out, but otherwise the pieces are there for the Chargers to maintain their status near the top of the AFC.
Los Angeles Rams: Friday, Irvine, California
Key story line: Last seen sputtering to the finish line in the Super Bowl, the Rams return most of the pieces that got them there.
Miami Dolphins: Wednesday, Davie, Florida
Key story line: Miami lured Brian Flores away from the division-rival Patriots to be its head coach and brought in Josh Rosen and Ryan Fitzpatrick to compete for the quarterback job. It still seems like the Dolphins will be the same anonymously bad team they’ve been for decades, though.
Minnesota Vikings: Thursday, Eagan, Minnesota
Key story line: The Kirk Cousins megadeal resulted in a sour 8-7-1 record and no playoffs. Coach Mike Zimmer probably has one more chance to reverse course.
New York Giants: Wednesday, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Key story line: The Giants kept Eli Manning, drafted his replacement in Daniel Jones and traded Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns. Giants fans liked exactly zero of those moves.
New York Jets: Wednesday, Florham Park, New Jersey
Key story line: The Jets tried to one-up the Giants by firing their GM after the draft and after he engineered the signing of free agent running back Le’Veon Bell. Oh, and their coach hinted that he thought Bell’s contract was too extravagant. Good times, as usual.
New England Patriots: Wednesday, Foxborough, Massachusetts
Key story line: The Patriots’ magic is going to run out at some point, right? Right? Rob Gronkowski is gone but nothing else has changed all that much.
New Orleans Saints: Thursday, Metairie, Louisiana
Key story line: Most of the team that got jobbed by the refs in the NFC title game is back and is rightfully seen as one of the NFC’s best.
Oakland Raiders: Friday, Napa, California
Key story line: We’ll get an up-close look at Jon Gruden’s second year at the helm, considering the Raiders’ appearance on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”
Philadelphia Eagles: Wednesday, Philadelphia
Key story line: Ravaged by injuries in their first year as defending Super Bowl champions, Philly still found a way into the postseason and even won a game. Nick Foles isn’t there to bail out the Eagles anymore, though.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Thursday, Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Key story line: Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown are gone, but James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster proved to be viable replacements for a team that suffered five losses by seven points or less.
San Francisco 49ers: Friday, Santa Clara, California
Key story line: Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo went down in Week 3 with a knee injury and the defense was a horror show. The former is back and the latter should be improved.
Seattle Seahawks: Wednesday, Renton, Washington
Key story line: Seattle has missed the playoffs just once with Pete Carroll as coach and Russell Wilson at quarterback. If the defense is there, that run should continue.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Thursday, Tampa, Florida
Key story line: Some think the hiring of Coach Bruce Arians is the key that will finally unlock Jameis Winston’s potential. With Winston in the final year of his contract, they probably have this season only to figure out if that’s the case.
Tennessee Titans: Thursday, Nashville, Tennessee
Key story line: Tennessee has gone 9-7 in three of quarterback Marcus Mariota’s four seasons, with just one playoff berth, but the Titans finally may have enough weapons surrounding him.
Washington Redskins: Wednesday, Richmond, Virginia
Key story line: The Redskins have gone 7-9 in each of their last two seasons, and with rookie Dwayne Haskins battling Case Keenum and Colts McCoy for the starting quarterback job, things might be trending in that middling direction again, with Coach Jay Gruden’s job possibly on the line.