LOS ANGELES – At the NFL's Pro Bowl, players reconnect with friends on opposing teams – including as teammates in some cases, if their respective teams are in the same conference – while preparing for and eventually playing in an AFC vs. NFC flag football game.
This week's Fanatics Flag Football Classic, which will take place Saturday at BMO Stadium from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. pacific time, carries the same feel, with current and former NFL players creating two separate teams that will be taking on the United States national flag football team in a five-on-five, round-robin tournament format that will air live on FOX Sports, FOX One, and Tubi.
"It's cool," Adams said in a press conference after Friday's practice at BMO Stadium. "It just kind of reminds me, (it's) half Pro Bowl, and the other part that's cool, is just obviously getting a chance to grow the game more, and being a part of something like this. Flag's been going on for a while, but being able to be present and bring a little bit more attention. Everybody sees us in the NFL hitting each other and doing that, but bringing a different viewpoint, I guess, and a different style of ball to it, just kind of grow it and maybe bring some more young guys and girls out and play some more football."
Saturday's matchups feature the U.S. national team and the two teams comprised of current and former NFL players, Wildcats FFC and Founders FFC. Adams was selected to Wildcats FFC during the event's draft, held this past Wednesday night at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Beverly Hills.
Team Wildcats is coached by 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and captained by Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, and besides Adams, also includes Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, defensive back Jalen Ramsey, defensive back Harrison Smith, Class of 2026 Pro Football Hall-of-Famer and former Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, plus IShowSpeed and Logan Paul.
Coached by Broncos head coach Sean Payton, Team Founders features quarterback Tom Brady, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty, Saints running back Alvin Kamara, tight end Rob Gronkowski, Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr., Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, linebacker Von Miller, Bills safety Damar Hamlin, cornerback Patrick Peterson and boxer Terence Crawford.
Asked about the biggest difference between preparing for this game and his preparation at the Rams' practice facility in Woodland Hills, Adams said "it's almost exactly the same" but still a little bit different because of getting used to some of the rules of flag football.
"There's more rules on defense I feel like, things that you have to get used to, a little bit of technique," Adams said. "Seven seconds to throw the ball if you're the quarterback, and if you lateral, it gives you unlimited clock behind the line of scrimmage. A few different rules things here and there, but it's still football."
There really won't be much carryover from their NFL schemes, Shanahan noted in a pre-practice press conference, given the dimensions of the field, the number of players on it and the overall style of play.
NFL offenses are used to attacking various styles of defenses with 11 players on the field, whereas there's five players on a flag football field, one of which is the rush end. Quarterbacks have seven seconds to throw the ball, but if you hand the ball off, you have unlimited time behind the line of scrimmage until one of the defenders comes up, which makes every play Cover 0.
Asked how much defense he's expecting, Adams said, "Me? Zero."
"We'll see. We'll see what the team needs," Adams said. "But we got Jalen Ramsey, we got some dogs out there to be able to take care of that."
