NFL clubs will begin their on-field preparations for Kickoff 2017 this week, starting Wednesday, July 19 as rookies for the Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints are scheduled to report.
The Arizona Cardinals, who will take on the Cowboys in the Hall of Fame Game (Thursday, August 3; NBC, 8:00 PM ET), will be the first team with a full squad in camp when their rookies and veterans report on Friday, July 21. By Saturday, July 29, every NFL team will be in camp.
This year, more than half the league (21 of 32, 66 percent) will be “staying home” for training camp. Teams considered to be “staying home” hold training camp at their respective practice facility, home stadium or at a site within 10 miles of their team headquarters. In 2000, only 10 of 31 (32 percent) teams stayed close to home.
“Our entire organization is excited to be returning to hold training camp at our facility in Metairie in 2017,” says Saints owner TOM BENSON. “This will be a great opportunity for our passionate fans from throughout the Gulf South to be able to experience the fun, excitement and interaction of Saints training camp as our team prepares for what we expect to be a very exciting season.”
The numbers may prove that training at home is a popular league-wide trend, but there are still teams employing the “old-time” philosophy of holding camp away from their facilities.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the teams that “come together” away from home, holding camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania for the 52nd consecutive year.
“There’s some intrinsic value to being here, some things that you can’t measure,” says Steelers head coach MIKE TOMLIN on holding training camp at St. Vincent College. “Those are things that I think about when I think about training camp and those are the things that make me really excited about bringing a team to an environment like this.”
The NFL training camp longevity king? The Green Bay Packers, who return for their 60th consecutive summer at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin.
Here’s a look at the number of NFL teams that stayed home for training camp since 2000:
| YEAR | NFL TEAMS WITH HOME
TRAINING CAMPS (PCT.) |
YEAR | NFL TEAMS WITH HOME
TRAINING CAMPS (PCT.) |
|
| 2000 | 10 of 31 (32%) | 2009 | 17 of 32 (53%) | |
| 2001 | 9 of 31 (29%) | 2010 | 17 of 32 (53%) | |
| 2002 | 10 of 32 (31%) | 2011 | 19 of 32 (59%) | |
| 2003 | 14 of 32 (44%) | 2012 | 19 of 32 (59%) | |
| 2004 | 15 of 32 (47%) | 2013 | 20 of 32 (63%) | |
| 2005 | 17 of 32 (53%) | 2014 | 20 of 32 (63%) | |
| 2006 | 15 of 32 (47%) | 2015 | 21 of 32 (66%) | |
| 2007 | 16 of 32 (50%) | 2016 | 20 of 32 (63%) | |
| 2008 | 15 of 32 (47%) | 2017 | 21 of 32 (66%) | |
| *Teams considered to be “staying home” hold training camp at their practice facility, home stadium or at a site within 10 miles of their team headquarters | ||||