Washington Commander-One of the greatest players in Redskins history is returning to the field for the first time in 24 years, and it's all in an attempt to win Olympic gold in 2028.
In two years, the Olympics will return to the United States for the Los Angeles Summer Games. And for the first time, American football will be among the games played. However, it will not be traditional tackle football and will instead mark the debut of flag football as an Olympic sport.
This week, national team tryouts are taking place in Chula Vista, California, and one of the athletes vying for a spot on the USA Soccer roster is a Hall of Famer. The Associated Press reports that Washington Commanders veteran Darrell Green will be one of the players competing in the tryouts.
What makes this news so interesting is that the seven-time Pro Bowler's 66th birthday is just a few weeks away. And the last time he played in an NFL game was in 2002. However, Green will go down as one of the greatest cornerbacks in league history because he was a freak athlete with epic speed, and it looks like the senior has some left in the tank.
"Darrell qualified through our digital combination. He's later in his career than other testing participants, but his testing results were impressive," Kelly Brownson, senior director of high performance and national teams for USA Soccer, told the AP. "Our coaches and staff felt he deserved a closer look. ... He is a rare athlete who has remained in shape and is ready to compete this week."
Green went viral in 2024 after a video surfaced showing how good the 64-year-old athlete was still when he took some high school players under the tree of learning in a training session. Furthermore, this is the same guy who ran a 4.2 40 yard dash in 2000 at age 40.
If there was any player who could surprise USA Soccer officials and earn a spot on the team, it's Darrell Green. It also helps that some current NFL stars will be taking part in flag football's Olympic debut.
The corner played all 20 of his NFL seasons in Washington, and is their all-time leader in games played, interceptions and defensive touchdowns. He was the first inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
