One Raven Must Be on Team USA in 2028

The NFL is on the verge of sending its biggest stars to Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Olympics, where flag football will make its debut on the most prominent international stage.

It is still multiple seasons away, but speculation has already run rampant. Between roster predictions, positional value discourse, and captain conversations, there is plenty of fun to be had in the years before the Olympics come home.

The Baltimore Ravens can rest assured that they have the NFL’s best option for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Kansas City Chiefs phenom Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the game, and Buffalo Bills freak Josh Allen might have the most physical talent. Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert might make strong arguments in the coming seasons, too.

But for flag football, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has to be the runaway favorite. In a recent NFL.com exercise, he was.

“Nobody embodies the electric nature of flag football more than Jackson, who would instantly become the greatest threat to every opponent when defenses choose to blitz and free him to run,” Nick Shook wrote. “With over 6,000 rushing yards and 33 rushing touchdowns, plus 20,059 passing yards and 166 touchdown tosses in his career, Jackson is unquestionably the top choice for the job -- although Jayden Daniels might make a nice second option.”

Mahomes, for all his strengths, is far more tailored to passing from behind the line of scrimmage than running past it. Allen, meanwhile, is a threat with his legs in large part due to his power. In the open field, with only flags to grasp at, the sport’s most dynamic quarterback must take the mantle.

The only things stopping Jackson from putting on his country’s colors and chasing after a gold medal are injuries and his age. He’ll be 31 by the time the Olympics return. If he’s not the same athlete – the kind that breaks the all-time quarterback rushing record before turning 28 – then there might be a conversation about an alternative.

But Jackson is an outlier athlete who may age extraordinarily well. Until Jackson gives the country a reason to turn to another quarterback, he has to get the first call to lead the United States into international competition.