It was where he first watched his parents cheer him on from the sidelines. The spot where his childhood friendships, spanning over 15 years, were born. It was also his introduction to the sport of football.

“The flag football experience was everything with building up the foundation, learning the positions, and throwing the ball around,” the Cardinals safety said. “It was the rudimentary way of learning football, in my opinion.”

While those moments took place during his middle school years, those memories follow Blount as he stood in front of his NFL locker. On the heels of the Spring League Meeting, nothing could shake the smile off Blount’s face when discussing the NFL’s ruling to allow players to take part in the 2028 Olympics.

“It’s going to be amazing and a showcase of skills,” Blount said. “I’m going to be really interested to see how the top athletes in the world in the NFL can now take their skills to a flag football game. It’s not the same rules, but same skillsets, so I’m really excited to see it.”

The owners passed the resolution unanimously, citing a desire to grow the sport globally. One player from each team is allowed to represent each country. To break it down, USA could select Marvin Harrison Jr. to play, but they can’t select him and Trey McBride. However, they could pair Harrison with the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, keeping alive the idea of an NFL “Dream Team.” In addition, international players can play for their country.

The topics of participation in the Olympics hasn’t been in the shadows within the Cardinals organization. On the girls side of the game, the Cardinals became the first NFL team to fully produce and broadcast a weekly high school girls flag football game of the week. Many of those high schoolers are members of various USA Football teams.