2012 NFL Calendar Firming Up: Pertinent 49ers Dates

Although we've known 49ers training camp report dates for some time now, the NFL officially released the information for the league. If you're desperate to know when other teams are starting up training camp, I've posted the league dates after the jump.

The 49ers rookies will report on July 21, along with selected veterans. Veterans are scheduled to report on July 26. The Buffalo Bills have the earliest rookie report date, with their rookies allowed to report starting today. Their veterans, however, will not report until July 25. The earliest veteran report dates are the Arizona Cardinals on July 23 and the New Orleans Saints on July 24. They play in the Hall of Fame Game a week before everybody else, so they get a little extra time.

Matt Maiocco put together a complete rundown of pertinent dates mixed in with the 49ers' 2012 schedule. After the 49ers rookies and "select veterans" report on July 21, their first practice will come on July 23. I believe three of the four quarterbacks will be among the "select veterans", with Alex Smith reporting early that following week. The rest of the team will be reporting by July 26 (well, we don't know about Dashon Goldson quite yet), with the first practice likely the following day.

The two pertinent roster cutdown dates are August 28 and September 2. On the 28th, teams have to cut down from 90 players to 80. On the 2nd, teams have to cut from 80 to 53. The following day, once released players clear waivers, teams can sign such players to their practice squad.

One intriguing date is Tuesday September 25. On that date, waiver claims will be ranked based on current standings. Prior to September 25, waivers are conducted via 2011 final standings. I don't think this will be a particularly huge issue, but it's something I had forgotten about.

There is one more important date, I suppose: February 3, 2013.

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