The Washington Commanders hope Jayden Daniels can be their driving force for at least the next decade, but what if another role comes along, an opportunity the dynamic quarterback can’t resist?
That role may involve Olympic duty for Daniels, who is a logical fit to represent the U.S. at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The NFL has ruled its players can compete in flag football, and Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports believes Daniels is the “best possible” QB to claim a gold medal.
Benjamin explained why the nature and rules of flag football would favor Daniels’ inclusion: “Whereas traditional football still values tenacious blocking and defensive physicality (see: the Philadelphia Eagles’ dominant Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs), flag football is all about open-field dynamism. You need players with sure hands and other fundamentals, yes, but burst and elusiveness are paramount.”
Those characteristics are “why, at quarterback, we prioritized a true dual threats, with Daniels arguably best positioned to offer the best of both worlds — tightrope accuracy, downfield touch and effortless mobility — in three years’ time,” per Benjamin.
Daniels makes an interesting pick for the Olympics because of his athleticism and flair for big plays. Yet, the Commanders will likely be reluctant to see their franchise passer risk injury away from the gridiron.
The danger will be compounded if Daniels has already earned a lucrative contract extension ahead of 2028. Those in charge of the Commanders will hope two factors take any decision out of Daniels’ hands.
Commanders QB Might Not Get the Chance to win Gold
Daniels may jump at the chance to play for his country if asked, but he might never be asked. Not when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell revealed the act of picking the Olympic roster is “actually a function of USA Football that will be making that decision. The NFL will not have any involvement in that selection process,” per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
While those words might seem to put a barrier between the league’s biggest starts and a trip to L.A., Florio explained why “the NFL will have indirect involvement, because the NFL has direct involvement in USA Football.”
As Florio put it, “USA Football bylaws require Goodell (with the use of the all-important legal term ‘shall’) to appoint three members to the board, with at least two of Goodell’s appointees serving on the executive committee.”
However the team gets picked, there’s also the not-so small matter of what happens to the existing stars of flag football. Including USA national team quarterback Darrell Doucette III.
He’s helped the U.S. win a pair of IFAF world championships, while also earning gold at the 2022 World Games. Doucette isn’t keen on relinquishing his place for a leading light from the pro arena.
He explained to The Washington Post (h/t ESPN), “This is a sport we’ve played for a long time, and we feel like we are the best at it and we don’t need other guys.”
Darrell Doucette III, quarterback of the USA national flag football team, says flag football players “deserve their opportunity” to play for Team USA in the 2028 Los Angeles Games 👀
Doucette makes a valid argument, but the choice may no longer be his if the top names of the NFL decide they’re ready for the Olympics. The temptation to turn Daniels loose would surely be too great.
Jayden Daniels Would All-But Guarantee Gold, but at Risk to Commanders
Unleashing Daniels’ speed and elusiveness in a game where “Teams are allowed to run the ball anywhere on the field besides the five-yard areas directly bordering the end zone,” per Jack McKessy of USA Today Sports, would be borderline cruel to other nations.
It would, however, all-but guarantee the U.S. takes gold. Nobody is stopping a dual-threat signal-caller capable of clocking 20 MPH on the move, the way Daniels did on this third-down scramble against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in Week 1, according to Next Gen Stats (h/t Nate Tice of Yahoo! Sports).
Jayden Daniels hit a top speed of 20 MPH on this 3rd & 4 scramble, via @NextGenStats.
Nobody else at the games would have an open-field runner as rapid as the Commanders’ QB1. Nor would another Olympic competitor match Daniels’ ability to stay elusive.
This snapshot against the Philadelphia Eagles, relayed by Scott Abraham of 7News DC, showed how easily Daniels can escape a phone booth and turn even a broken play into a long gain.
This was a 29-yard run by Jayden Daniels.
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Watching Daniels glide through the competition in Los Angeles would put smiles on the faces of Commanders fans everywhere. Yet, one sharper than expected cutback or misjudged angle would turn things sour.
The threat of injury may be too great for the Offensive Rookie of the Year. He knows he’s just getting started in a career set to be defined more by dominating NFL defenses and winning titles, rather than gold medals.
