Robert Griffin III might be on track for Olympic gold on the flag football field.
The former Pro Bowl quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner and star college hurdler attended Team USA tryouts last week and impressed enough to make the next phase in building the 2026 roster, USA Football announced today. Griffin last played in the NFL in 2020.
With stark differences between the disciplines, Team USA’s amateurs dominated two opponents loaded with NFL stars Saturday in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic. But the pros admitted they weren’t as prepared as they should have been. Flag football’s fundamental nuances and rules proved too difficult to handle.
Griffin, at least, is going through the Team USA selection process without taking much for granted. He is by far the most decorated NFL player to attempt the switch.
The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner participated in team trials last week in Chula Vista, Calif., and was among the 24 chosen to move on to three training camp sessions. Darrell Green, still a competitive senior sprinter at 66 years old and a Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback, also tried out but didn’t make the cut.
A selection committee of coaches, scouts and USA Football personnel will pare the group to 18 after the second training camp in May. A roster of 12 players and six alternates will emerge from the third training camp in June and compete at the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championship in Düsseldorf, Germany.
The Olympic roster won’t be decided until 2028, but making Team USA now would be a significant step toward establishing Griffin’s flag bona fides.
Griffin was a star at Baylor University, where he also was Big 12 Conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles. Washington made him the second overall draft choice in 2012 after the Indianapolis Colts took Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.
Griffin was voted 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year and made the Pro Bowl when he completed 65.6 percent of his attempts for 3,200 yards and 20 touchdowns with just five interceptions.
He never came close to matching those numbers. A gruesome knee injury at the end of his rookie season and a 2015 preseason concussion curtailed his career, which included stops as a backup for the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. He played his final game at age 30.