The 2023 NFL season is the 104th season of the National Football League (NFL). The season began on September 7, 2023, with defending Super Bowl LVII champion Kansas City falling to Detroit in the NFL Kickoff Game, and is scheduled to end on January 7, 2024.
The playoffs are then scheduled to start on January 13, and conclude with Super Bowl LVIII, the league's championship game, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, on February 11.
Player movement
The 2023 NFL league year and trading period began on March 15. On March 13, teams were allowed to exercise options for 2023 on players with option clauses in their contracts, submit qualifying offers to their pending restricted free agents, and submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2022 contracts and fewer than three accrued seasons of free agent credit. Teams were required to be under the salary cap using the "top 51" definition (in which the 51 highest paid-players on the team's payroll must have a combined salary cap). On March 15, clubs were allowed to contact and begin contract negotiations with players whose contracts had expired and thus became unrestricted free agents.
Free agency
Free agency began on March 15. Notable players to change teams included:
Quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett (Cleveland to Washington), Derek Carr (Las Vegas to New Orleans), Andy Dalton (New Orleans to Carolina), Jimmy Garoppolo (San Francisco to Las Vegas), Taylor Heinicke (Washington to Atlanta), and Baker Mayfield (Los Angeles Rams to Tampa Bay) Running backs Dalvin Cook (Minnesota to New York Jets), Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas to New England), Melvin Gordon (Kansas City to Baltimore), Damien Harris (New England to Buffalo), David Montgomery (Chicago to Detroit), Latavius Murray (Denver to Buffalo), Miles Sanders (Philadelphia to Carolina), Devin Singletary (Buffalo to Houston), and Jamaal Williams (Detroit to New Orleans) Wide receivers Nelson Agholor (New England to Baltimore), Odell Beckham Jr. (Los Angeles Rams to Baltimore), D. J. Chark (Detroit to Carolina), DeAndre Hopkins (Arizona to Tennessee), Allen Lazard (Green Bay to New York Jets), Jakobi Meyers (New England to Las Vegas), JuJu Smith-Schuster (Kansas City to New England), Adam Thielen (Minnesota to Carolina), and Robert Woods (Tennessee to Houston) Tight ends Mike Gesicki (Miami to New England), Austin Hooper (Tennessee to Las Vegas), Hayden Hurst (Cincinnati to Carolina), Dalton Schultz (Dallas to Houston), and Robert Tonyan (Green Bay to Chicago) Offensive linemen Orlando Brown Jr. (Kansas City to Cincinnati), Nate Davis (Tennessee to Chicago), Mike McGlinchey (San Francisco to Denver), Connor McGovern (Dallas to Buffalo), Ben Powers (Baltimore to Denver), Donovan Smith (Tampa Bay to Kansas City), Jawaan Taylor (Jacksonville to Kansas City), and Andrew Wylie (Kansas City to Washington) Defensive linemen Zach Allen (Arizona to Denver), Calais Campbell (Baltimore to Atlanta), Marcus Davenport (New Orleans to Minnesota), Javon Hargrave (Philadelphia to San Francisco), Dre'Mont Jones (Denver to Seattle), Yannick Ngakoue (Indianapolis to Chicago), David Onyemata (New Orleans to Atlanta), and Dalvin Tomlinson (Minnesota to Cleveland) Linebackers Frank Clark (Kansas City to Denver), Tremaine Edmunds (Buffalo to Chicago), T. J. Edwards (Philadelphia to Chicago), Leonard Floyd (Los Angeles Rams to Buffalo), Eric Kendricks (Minnesota to Los Angeles Chargers), and Bobby Wagner (Los Angeles Rams to Seattle) Defensive backs Adrian Amos (Green Bay to New York Jets), Jessie Bates (Cincinnati to Atlanta), C. J. Gardner-Johnson (Philadelphia to Detroit), Byron Murphy (Arizona to Minnesota), Marcus Peters (Baltimore to Las Vegas), Patrick Peterson (Minnesota to Pittsburgh), Cameron Sutton (Pittsburgh to Detroit), Juan Thornhill (Kansas City to Cleveland), and Jimmie Ward (San Francisco to Houston) Kickers Matt Gay (Los Angeles Rams to Indianapolis) and Brandon McManus (Denver to Jacksonville) Punters Jake Bailey (New England to Miami) and Riley Dixon (Los Angeles Rams to Denver)
Trades
The following notable trades were made during the 2023 league year: