Derek Carr has been teasing unretiring all year. He now does a podcast with his brother David, and the two regularly talk about the prospect of him returning for 2026. As of lately, Derek has been reportedly “very serious” about making a potential return to the NFL.
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If Carr doesn’t come out of retirement, though, his brother has an idea for something that might do the job. Flag football is going to be in the Olympics at LA28 for the first time, and David thinks that his brother would fit right in as the team’s starting QB.
“I’m convinced that you’re going to come back and play football for one reason: to win a gold medal in flag football,” David joked on their podcast Home Grown.
Derek is a proud American citizen who says he has family members who have fought in wars. Because of this, nothing would make him happier than to represent his country at the Olympics. He even said that winning a gold medal would bring tears to his eyes.
However, NFL players representing the USA at the Olympics in flag football has been a contentious topic. After all, there is a professional flag football league in the US, and many players from that league thought they would be considered for the team. Some argue that the sport has subtle nuances that differentiate it from regular football, and NFL players might struggle.
But Carr doesn’t envision this being the case. He thinks it would take one meeting with NFL guys to clear up the intricacies of flag football.
“It would take one two-hour meeting where they say, ‘Hey, this can happen, this can happen, this, boom boom boom,’” Derek said.
Carr even said that he’d personally watch game film on other teams to provide scouting reports for Team USA. David also said that he’d be willing to take on a coaching role and help with the scouting as well. Being that football is an American sport, they don’t envision other countries being too good at it.
“I’d venture to say that a team of retired NFL players can win gold,” Derek stated.
It was a hearty statement that showed the confidence the two have in the US when it comes to football. Only two other countries have professional football leagues that come close to the likes of the NFL. Those are Canada and Mexico. Europe also has two leagues that have come about in recent years, with teams spread across the country, but those are still fairly new.
At the very least, football has certainly grown in popularity worldwide over the years. It’s no longer an exclusively American sport. But the best of the best still reside in the US, and most of them were born and raised there.
If Carr were to return for a gold medal run with Team USA, it would be fun to watch. He’d be the perfect candidate, being a recently retired player who can still play and has nothing to risk injury-wise. But he’s most likely more focused on a return to the NFL, where he can make money and maybe have a run at a Super Bowl.
