Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III will try to upset the status quo in flag football after he was named to the 24-member Team USA Football men’s national team on Thursday.
The group, made up primarily of flag football mainstays, is headed to training camp where it will be pared down to a 12-man squad that will represent the United States at the 16-team International Federation of American Flag Football World Championships from Aug. 27-30 at Dusseldorf, Germany.
In addition to Griffin, players named to the 24-man squad with a quarterback designation included Nicholas “Nico” Casares, Antonio Coleman and Darrell “Housh” Doucette III.
Griffin, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner out of Baylor, is trying to become the rare NFL player to excel at flag football.
The differences between flag football and tackle football were evident in the recent Fanatics Flag Football Classic when Team USA flag football players trounced a team that included NFL players.
Since last playing in the NFL during the 2020 season, the 36-year-old Griffin has worked as a football analyst for ESPN and Fox.
The 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Griffin passed for 9,271 yards with 43 touchdowns and 30 interceptions over 56 career NFL games (42 starts) with Washington (2012-14), the Cleveland Browns (2016) and the Baltimore Ravens (2018-20). He also rushed for 1,809 yards and 10 scores.
