With flag football debuting at the 2028 Olympics, NFL stars now have a chance to show their talents on a global platform. But one has to wonder how widespread the desire to compete will be among them. As AJ Brown has already come out and said, he won’t participate in the 34th installment of the Games.
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Taking place in Los Angeles, California, the Games are always looking to install new sports for athletes to medal in. One of those sports will be flag football.
Ahead of the event, the NFL and Roger Goodell have decided to pass a rule allowing NFL players to compete in the Olympics. It’s a competition that many football players may have never thought they could be a part of. But soon, that dream will come true for some.
However, Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown revealed in his latest presser that he is planning to pass on having a shot at Olympic glory. Instead, he wants to focus on the NFL.
“That would be fun, just to compete. Me personally, no, because of camp. (The media) would be complaining, ‘A.J. Brown is not in camp.’ So would the fans. So I’m going to keep the main thing the main thing,” Brown told PHLY’s Zach Berman.
It may come as a surprise to some, but Brown simply wants to be with his team and doesn’t want to risk getting injured. Even though it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it’s still a no-go for him.
But when Reddit heard about Brown’s comments, they argued that he wouldn’t have been selected in the first place.
“He wouldn’t be the pick anyway tbh. It will more than likely be true speedsters who get picked,” a user argued.
“Kadarius Toney would be an incredible flag football player and I’m sure he’s looking for work,” another responded.
Others agreed that because Brown is more of a physically gifted receiver, he wouldn’t be able to leverage that ability as much in flag football. So, smaller, faster route runners would be favored.
“I don’t know anything about professional flag football, but I’m guessing someone like AJ wouldn’t be the ideal receiver. Now Skinny Batman on the other hand,” someone wrote.
Another added: “Would he have made the American flag team anyways? I’d assume whoever is put in charge of the team to just fill it up with pure speedsters/route technicians. Not that he isn’t elite, but I think what separates him is his physicality which he wouldn’t be able to leverage at the Olympics.”
The Redditors seemed to be certain that Brown wouldn’t be the prototypical flag football wide receiver, which may be somewhat correct. But there are other aspects of receiving that are more important than speed.
For example, Brown is one of the best-contested catchers in the league. He would be more than capable of going up and “Mossing” some random defender from Latvia if need be. Speed kills, but strength and hops thrill.
However, the Redditors could be right that Brown wouldn’t make the team, but for different reasons. Let’s not forget, these games won’t occur for another 3 years. Brown will be 30 by then. Will he still have the athletic ability to be considered one of the best receivers in the league?
Probably not. Although Brown is a physically gifted freak of nature. So who knows? Maybe age is just a number for him. But most likely, there will be other receivers in their prime who will be better options. It’ll be interesting to see if those future options forgo the event out of the risk of injury, opening the door for a lesser option like a future Brown. Will he then consider joining the team?
