Growers have increasingly adopted the planting of cover crops as a sustainable way to control problematic and herbicide-resistant weeds. Understanding the critical period of crop-weed competition is essential for timely and effective weed management tactics in cropping systems. A 2-yr field experiment was conducted in Alabama to evaluate the effect of a cover crop mixture that included cereal rye, crimson clover, and hairy vetch, and a planting of cereal rye alone on the critical period for weed control (CPWC) in soybean. The experiment was implemented in a split-plot design in which the main plots were cover crop mixture, cereal rye, and winter fallow, and subplots were five durations of weed-free and weed-interference plots. The presence of planting a cover crop mixture and cereal rye delayed the critical timing for weed removal (CTWR) by approximately 2 wk compared with winter fallow. Results in 2019 showed the predicted duration of CPWC following cover crop mixture, cereal rye, and winter fallow was 4.8 wk, 0 wk, and 5.1 wk, respectively. Furthermore, in 2020, the estimated CPWC duration following plantings of a cover crop mixture or cereal rye versus a winter fallow was 1.4 wk, 0.1 wk, and 2.6 wk, respectively. In both years, the plantings of single-species cereal rye resulted in the shortest CPWC due to its early-season weed suppression, while winter fallow plots demonstrated the longest CPWC duration. In conclusion, a shorter duration of CPWC with the incorporation of cover crops could help soybean growers enhance their weed control efforts and provide greater yield protection to soybean.