Darrell Green already has a gold jacket as a pro football Hall of Famer. He’s returning to the field at 66 years old for a chance at a in flag football.
Green, the longtime defensive back for Washington who hasn’t played in the NFL since 2002, took part in the national team trials this weekend in Chula Vista, California. He joins a host of athletes trying out with all levels of football experience, to tackle to 20 NFL seasons (see: himself).
At stake is an invitation to training camp next month and possibly a roster spot on the 2026 national flag football squad that will compete at the world championships in Germany this summer. It’s in a series of steps ahead of making its Olympic debut at the 2028 LA Games.
“Darrell qualified through our digital combine. He鈥檚 later in his career than the other trials participants, but his testing results were impressive,鈥� said Callie Brownson, the senior director of high performance and national teams for USA football. 鈥淥ur coaches and staff felt he deserved a closer look. … He鈥檚 a rare athlete who has stayed in shape and is ready to compete this week.”
Lock-down defensive back with 20 years of NFL experience
Green was known for his lock-down coverage skills, blazing speed and durability over a career that spanned 20 seasons. A first-round pick in 1983, Green helped Washington to a pair of Super Bowl titles. He had 54 interceptions and another six in the postseason, including a pick of Jim Kelly in Super Bowl 26 when Washington beat Buffalo 37-24.
At 66, Green has his work cut out for him to make the roster. The U.S. men’s flag football squad is already the gold standard, winning six of the last seven IFAF world championship tournaments since 2010.
On USA Football鈥檚 Instagram page, Green said: 鈥淚鈥檓 going to give it my best and I鈥檒l walk away with my head up, either way.鈥�
There are roughly 100 men and women attempting to stand out in front of U.S. national team coaches and personnel this weekend. Other players at trials include basketball standouts Loryn Goodwin, who was a second-round selection in the 2018 WNBA draft, and O鈥橫ariah Gordon, an all-ACC guard for Florida State.
鈥淭he agility, creativity, hand-eye coordination and vertical leaping ability on the basketball court translates well to a flag football field,鈥� Brownson said. “Our pipeline continues to gain traction with athletes from many different backgrounds. We鈥檒l keep putting a lot of effort into exploring talent transfers as we build towards flag鈥檚 Olympic debut at LA28.鈥�
The players who are selected out of training camp will join those from last year’s squads and compete to earn spots on the 2026 U.S. national team roster. The squads will take part in the IFAF flag football championships in D眉sseldorf, Germany from August 13-16.
鈥淲hen you see a Hall of Famer, players with high-level tackle football backgrounds, former flag football gold medalists and elite athletes from other sports showing up to compete for a spot on this team, that tells you something,鈥� Brownson said. 鈥淚t speaks to the legitimate level of excitement and interest high-performing athletes have in Olympic flag football. It鈥檚 the deepest pool of athletes we鈥檝e ever had at trials.鈥�
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