NFL training camps open nationwide as 2026 season preparations begin
NFL training camps opened during the week of Aug. 3, launching the leaguewide preparation period for the 2026 season across all 32 clubs.
The Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers were the first teams to have their entire squads on site. They are scheduled to meet in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 6, providing the first scheduled preseason game of the NFL calendar.
The game is scheduled for Canton, Ohio, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It comes after the league’s training-camp cycle began, rather than marking the date every club opened camp. The NFL said camps opened during the week of Aug. 3; it did not state that every club began full-team work on Aug. 3 itself.
League coverage begins Aug. 3
NFL Network’s Inside Training Camp coverage began Aug. 3 at 10 a.m., accompanying the opening week of camp activity around the league.
Training camp is the NFL’s leaguewide preparation period before the regular season. For the 32 franchises, the opening of camp starts the formal 2026 buildup, with clubs assembling players and beginning their preseason preparation.
The NFL’s announcement identified Arizona and Carolina as the first clubs with their entire teams on site. That designation applies to the timing described by the league and does not establish an opening date or reporting status for every other team.
Likewise, the start of camp does not resolve team-level roster questions. The leaguewide announcement did not provide complete reporting details for each club, nor did it set out injuries, depth-chart decisions or eventual roster cuts. Those matters require separate reporting from individual teams.
Hall of Fame Game opens the on-field schedule
Arizona and Carolina are scheduled to play Aug. 6 in the Hall of Fame Game, moving the league from camp practices into its first scheduled preseason competition. The matchup gives both clubs an early place on the 2026 preseason calendar.
No score, record or standings implication is attached to the game before it is played. The NFL source identifies the contest as scheduled, not completed, and the training-camp announcement does not announce any final roster decisions for either club.
The Hall of Fame Game is the next confirmed league event in the training-camp timeline. It follows the Aug. 3 start of NFL Network coverage and precedes the broader preseason window set by the league.
Preseason runs Aug. 13-29
The NFL has scheduled the 2026 preseason for Aug. 13 through Aug. 29. That window follows the Aug. 6 Hall of Fame Game and provides the league’s defined preseason period before the regular season.
For fans and clubs nationwide, the calendar now has three confirmed markers: training camps opened during the week of Aug. 3; the Cardinals and Panthers are scheduled to play Aug. 6; and the preseason is set for Aug. 13-29.
The immediate next step is the Hall of Fame Game in Canton. Beyond that matchup, the NFL’s approved training-camp information establishes the preseason dates but does not provide club-by-club camp outcomes, player availability or finalized lineups.
Sources
- NFL training camps for 2026 season open this week, National Football League
- Back Together Weekend, National Football League