Dolphins, Bears, Giants, Saints start NFL off-season workouts

April 4 (UPI) -- The Miami Dolphins, with Tyreek Hill, were among the four teams to report Monday for off-season workouts, starting a wave of league-wide sessions that will run through early May.

Hill, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and other Dolphins players worked out at their training facility, adjacent to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints and New York Giants were the other teams that reported Monday to their respective facilities.

The teams were allowed to start their programs early because they are led by new coaches. The league allows teams with new coaches to start up to two weeks before those with returning coaches.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders and Houston Texas also hired new coaches, and their players will report April 11, a week before other NFL teams.

"I'm excited to get going here," Giants quarterback Daniel Jones told the team website Monday. "I appreciate the support but it's my job to prepare myself and the team to win football games."

The Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams and a dozen other teams report April 18 for the first phase of their off-season programs.

The Buffalo Bills are among seven teams who report April 19 to start off-season programs. The Philadelphia Eagles report April 25, and the Cincinnati Bengals report May 2.

The first phase of the voluntary off-season program includes two weeks of meetings, strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation. The second phase of the program allows for individual or group instruction and drills, but no live contact.

The third phase of the program can include up to 10 days of organized team activities, with no live contact. Teams are allowed to conduct 7 on 7, 9 on 7 and 11 on 11 drills in the third phase.

Teams also are allowed to hold a mandatory minicamp for veteran players during the third phase of off-season workouts. Teams will hold rookie minicamps in May after the 2022 NFL Draft, which runs from April 28 to 30 in Las Vegas. Full-squad organized team activities will take place in May and June.

Each team will conduct a three-day mandatory minicamp in June.

NFL training camps will start in July and run through the preseason. The first preseason game, the 2022 Hall of Fame Game between the Raiders and Jaguars, will be Aug. 4 in Canton, Ohio.

The 2022 NFL regular season begins Sept. 8.