Darrell Green may have retired from the NFL in 2002, but that isn't stopping the Hall of Famer from getting back on to the field for a different type of football at age 66.
Green, who played 20 years in the NFL and won two Super Bowls with Washington, is in Chula Vista, California, this weekend to take part in the national flag football team trials. He will be one of many athletes attempting to earn a spot on the 2026 U.S. squad that will compete at the world championships in Germany in August.
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According to Callie Brownson, USA Football's senior director of high performance and national teams, the longtime NFL cornerback qualified for this stage of the process through a digital combine via "impressive" testing results. "He's a rare athlete who has stayed in shape and is ready to compete this week," she saidvia The Associated Press.
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Green will try to make an already competitive team. The U.S. men's national squad has won six of the pastseven IFAF world titles since 2010.
"There's nothing like getting on that field and competing on behalf of this country," Green saidvia USA Football's Instagram page. "And then topping that off standing on that top podium getting that gold [medal]. I've done it in track in college and high school; I've been in Super Bowls, this is the granddaddy of them all. Don't feel sorry for me, don't feel bad for me. I'm a competitor just like everybody else and I'm gonna give it my best and walk away with my head up, either way."
Green was the 28th overall pick by Washington in the 1983 NFL Draft. Along with two championships, he was a four-time All-Pro, seven-time Pro Bowler and a member of the NFL 100th Anniversary All-time Team.
Prior to his NFL career, Green was a track and field standout at then-Texas A&I University, earning back-to-back All-America honors in 1981 and 1982.
In October 2023, theInternational Olympic Committee executive board approvedflag football among five sports that were added to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics schedule. This past December, theNFL voted to fund and launch a professional flag football league, months after the league approved a resolution allowingplayers to participateat the LA Games. Injury protection and salary cap credit will be offered to teams that lose players to injury.
