Carr, the Oakland Raiders’ 36th overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, was preparing for his rookie season when a nagging thought that something was wrong, that he was on the wrong path, surfaced. According to a recent profile on Carr by the the Mercury News, he tried to push it away but the uncertainty started to consume him.
“In my heart, I’d never had this feeling where I was so overcome with my thoughts that I was like, ‘I can’t do anything right now,’” Carr said. “The thought was, ‘You need to stop playing football and preach.’ I’m thinking, ‘I’ve dreamed of being an NFL quarterback my whole life, so chill out.’”
But when Carr was unable to shake the thought, he eventually told his then-head coach Dennis Allen he was considering abandoning football altogether, sparking a carefully-hushed, behind-the-scenes crisis in a Raiders organization that believed it had landed a franchise QB in drafting Carr. After a time of praying and listening to others’ advice Carr decided to continue in the NFL, believing he had plenty of time to pursue a ministry career after his time in the NFL.
In the meantime, Carr preaches occasionally around the Bay Area — such as at Jesus Culture in Sacramento, and at Brave Church outside of Oakland. His message entitled “Holy Fire” in early July featured his current head coach, Jon Gruden, in attendance.
“Derek is what he says he is — No. 1, he’s a man of faith; No. 2, he’s a family man, and third is football.” Gruden told The Mercury News. “And he’s put forth as much effort as any man could possibly put forth in those three areas.”
Like most pro athletes, Carr is ultra-competitive, and is the first to admit this competitive drive sometimes leads to impulsive decisions he regrets. He admits challenging ESPN personality Max Kellerman wasn’t “the brightest move by me.” Still, his teammates say that while Carr might not be a pushover, he’s a man who lives his faith in a way that inspires them.
“He’s a nice model to have around you, a family man, does everything the right way,” Raiders running back and fellow Christian Jalen Richard said. “When you’ve got a guy like that, who has so much faith, no matter what’s going on, that picks up your faith and makes you start to search for faith in yourself.”
Carr and the Oakland Raiders offense enter their new season with high expectations, having surrounded Carr with tools to succeed on offense, including WR Antonio Brown and rookie RB Josh Jacobs. The open the season this week on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos.
Seattle Seahawks WRs Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) and Cooper Kupp (10), Oct. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Behind the scenes of the Seattle Seahawks’ incredible 14-3 regular season and trek to Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots, a powerful bond has formed within the team’s wide receiver room — Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the 23-year-old superstar wide receiver just entering his prime, and Cooper Kupp, the grizzled 32-year-old veteran wideout nearing the end of his career.
Kupp has already been where Smith-Njigba is now: helping lead a team to a Super Bowl appearance after leading the league in receiving yards. Kupp did it with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021-22. Now, in his first season with Seattle, Kupp has had a front-row seat to watch Smith-Njigba repeat history.
“The first day he came (in OTAs), he preached about ‘the process’ — process over results,” Smith-Njigba said of Kupp in a recent story for The Athletic. “And that, honestly, changed my life as a person and as a player. We’re not worried about 200 yards; we’re just worried about play-by-play, and doing our job. I can’t thank him enough.”
It’s clear that the camaraderie between the two receivers runs much deeper than the X’s and O’s of football.
Kupp has dealt with multiple significant injuries throughout his time in the NFL, perhaps most notably a torn left ACL in 2018. He’s also experienced the pain of having been released by the Rams after eight seasons. His release led to the opportunity to sign with Seattle this offseason, and he’s seen God’s hand at work throughout his story.
“Hearing lies and things that are spoken over you and into your life [has been tough],” Kupp said Monday night. “For me, the faith that I have, the belief that I have — I have this belief that the things I was doing were for a greater purpose than myself, and that there was a point behind it. The joy that I felt playing this game — just because it felt like I was just made to do it, and being able to glorify God through that — that is gonna make it all worth it. It sustained me through all the highs and all the lows. Truly wouldn’t be here today without it.
“… The end is written already, and I just need to go out there and glorify God.”
Kupp’s new mentee, Smith-Njigba, was sitting just a short distance away and saying similar things.
“Where I am when I’m low and where I am when I have success, it’s very important how I carry myself,” Smith-Njigba told Sports Spectrum at Super Bowl LX Opening Night. “And who do I give it to? Do I change as a person? I think just staying grounded and giving Him the glory, and understanding that I’m here to serve others. I’m here to serve the Lord.”
“My faith comes first,” he declared Monday night. “That’s what I stand on. That’s who I am. Everything else is everything else. I’m a follower of Christ, I’m a son, I’m a brother, and then I’m a football player. So that’s what I lead with.
“… Jesus, for me, is everything. This is Who I do it for. I’m here to serve Him and to serve others.”
Four years ago, when Kupp led the NFL in receiving yards and led the Rams to Super Bowl LVI, L.A. finished the deal and beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20. Smith-Njigba has followed in Kupp’s footsteps all year. Will he do so again Sunday night against the Pats? Will history really repeat itself?
“For me to be able to [get to a Super Bowl] at 23, it’s a blessing,” Smith-Njigba said. “I give the glory to God, and I’m gonna take full advantage of this moment.”
Kickoff between the Seahawks and Patriots in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, is set for Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper)
SAN FRANCISCO — Not only is this Hunter Henry’s first trip to the Super Bowl after 10 years in the NFL, it comes after arguably his best season in the NFL.
The veteran tight end finished the regular season as the New England Patriots’ second-leading receiver with a career-best 768 yards. Those came on 60 receptions, tied for the second most in his career. He’s added six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown in three playoff games.
Henry will certainly be a key target for QB Drake Maye on Sunday as the Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. Largely thanks to Henry, the New England offense racked up the third-most yards in the NFL (379.4 per game) and the second-most points (28.8) in the regular season.
But his play on the field isn’t where Henry makes the most impact. He’s long been a supporter of numerous organizations and charities, and was recognized for his work by the Patriots making him their nominee for this year’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
One such nonprofit near and dear to Henry is Compassion International, a Christian child development organization working to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.
“We’ve given and supported them for a long time,” Hunter said this week when asked by Sports Spectrum why Compassion is important to him. “It’s a tremendous organization that does a lot of cool things across the globe.
“Honestly, we got even more involved once I had my two kids. Just seeing the poverty and there’s so many kids around the globe that struggle, and the work that they do to get these kids out of poverty and really help these kids across the globe is just life-changing. Then the mission behind it and the heart behind it is really why we love the organization.”
"The work that they do to get these kids out of poverty and really help these kids across the globe is just life changing." – Hunter Henry, Patriots TE
We are so excited to partner with @compassion for our Super Bowl LX coverage in San Francisco.
Henry was introduced to Compassion at a young age, as his family — led by his dad, Mark, who was a pastor in Little Rock, Arkansas — worked with the organization. The Henry family sponsored a young girl in Guatemala, and took a trip when Hunter was in high school to meet her. Hunter called it “life-changing.”
“It puts everything in perspective, how cushy our life can be, how easy things can be here,” Henry told the Patriots team website in 2024, when he wore custom Compassion cleats for a game as part of the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats initiative.
Once he graduated from the University of Arkansas and entered the NFL as a second-round draft pick by the San Diego Chargers in 2016, he began supporting Compassion on his own. And as he’s gotten married and started a family, he’s gotten his wife, Parker, and their two children, Ace and Rivi, involved as well.
“They’re my fruit, basically. I have to pour into them, I have to give to them, and I have to be the example my dad was for me,” Henry said about his kids. “I want to give my kids that but I want to give other kids that too.”
Henry’s heart to serve and support others stems from his strong faith in Christ. He’s long been outspoken about his faith, and has continued to proclaim his faith this week at the Super Bowl.
“My faith in Jesus has meant everything to me,” he told Sports Spectrum. “It’s really my foundation, it’s my rock that keeps me steady. Football and life are kind of a roller coaster, and there’s a lot of ups and downs. Honestly, my faith in Jesus keeps me very solid, keeps me steady, something I can always rely on. It’s just a solid foundation for me through everything.”
Henry and the Patriots face the Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
New England Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper)
SAN FRANCISCO — When New England Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss takes the field Sunday in Super Bowl LX, he’ll have a large family contingent cheering him on. And they know the NFL well.
Luther, his father, played 10 years in the NFL (1995-2004), nine with the Detroit Lions and one with the Denver Broncos. Luther’s oldest son, Kaden, was a seventh-round pick by the New Orleans Saints in 2019, joined the Atlanta Falcons in 2023, and just finished his seventh NFL season. Next is Christian, who was undrafted in 2021 but eventually joined the Philadelphia Eagles, then signed with the Patriots in 2023. He’s followed by Jonah, a third-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 2024 whom Christian beat in the AFC Championship Game to book a trip to the Bay Area. And the youngest son is Elijah, who just finished his redshirt freshman season at Utah, where Luther is the defensive tackles coach. All the boys are linebackers.
Christian is the first in the family to play in the Super Bowl, and he has enjoyed his best season as an individual. In his first year as a regular starter, he compiled a career-high 94 combined tackles in the regular season (second on the team), three pass deflections and a forced fumble. He’s elevated his play in New England’s three playoff games, with 16 combined tackles, two pass deflections, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a sack.
He’ll be key in helping the Patriots stop the Seattle Seahawks’ explosive offense on Sunday. And watching him intently will of course be his brothers, father, mother (Rebecca) and sister (Olivia). But with them will also be numerous others grateful for the home the Elliss family has provided for decades — Christian’s seven adopted siblings: Noah, Isaiah, Isabelle, Sophia, Micah, Mia and Colsen.
The idea of adoption was always something Rebecca and Luther were open to, and they were given an opportunity years ago when one of Rebecca’s good friends founded an adoption agency. She told Rebecca and Luther of a baby named Isaiah who needed a home. It didn’t take much discussion before they welcomed him into their own, and many more children followed in the years to come.
Seeing the example set by his parents, Christian — who already has three biological sons with his wife, Kaysie — seeks to adopt one day too.
“It’s very clear in the Bible — God has a special heart for children,” Christian told Sports Spectrum this week. “And so anyone who needs a home, I think they just need to be taken care of. I think it’s a responsibility for all believers.”
"I think it's very clear in the Bible, God has a special heart for children. I think it's a responsibility for all believers."
New England Patriots LB Christian Elliss at Super Bowl LX media availability on faith and adoption. pic.twitter.com/o7vwV7emJ6
Many in our culture today think there are only two options when faced with an unplanned pregnancy: parenting or abortion. If they’re even presented with the idea of choosing adoption, it often comes with a stigma, fear of judgment and lack of information.
This is what John Knox has set out to change. The entrepreneurial businessman launched his nonprofit, Adoption is an Option, in 2020 to equip “those closest to women in crisis — those who need to know — with the tools and resources to present adoption clearly and without pressure.” The organization seeks to “make sure adoption is seen as a supported path, not a stigmatized afterthought.”
Knox himself was adopted at 6 weeks old, and didn’t meet his birth mother until he was 38. That’s when he learned she got married and had five children after putting him up for adoption, but she never told any of her kids about him.
“She never wanted them to know about me, which was really a shame,” Knox told Sports Spectrum this week. “The secrecy around adoption is so different today from what it used to be and that’s what people don’t know today is how it’s different than the way it used to be. Today, birth parents get to pick what family’s going to adopt the child. They get to decide if they’re going to have an open relationship. That didn’t exist before.”
Knox was a successful businessman, buying and selling surety companies over a 40-year career, until he sold his last company in 2020. On a mission to discover what God had next for him, he set out on a road trip that summer which eventually took him to Northern California, where he stayed with one of his sisters. There, he couldn’t help but notice a next-door neighbor who had a number of women’s rights signs up in her yard, advocating for a woman’s right to choose when it came to unplanned pregnancy.
“Legally, it’s a woman’s right to choose but adoption is an option. That was really where I felt like God gave me the answer,” Knox said. “So for the rest of that trip, I was very focused on ‘adoption is an option.’ I came home and started a nonprofit and wanted to use the skills and resources that I’d gotten out of business to put it to something I think God wanted me to put it to. And He’s led me down a tremendous path as a result of that.”
Knox feels adoption is misunderstood and many women who might choose this path are held back. Meanwhile, thousands of families are ready and waiting to adopt. His goal is for a movement where adoption is seen not as an act of loss, but as an act of love, and where women in crisis feel surrounded by care.
As more and more people discover the resources available, he hopes the stigma surrounding adoption will begin to fade. Then more families like the Elliss clan will come to know the beauty of choosing adoption.
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas celebrates after intercepting a pass, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)
Drake Thomas never expected to be here.
Three years ago, he entered the NFL as an undrafted linebacker out of North Carolina State, focused on earning a roster spot and extending his career one day at a time. Now, he’s a starting linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks, preparing to play in the Super Bowl.
“It’s wild,” he told Sports Spectrum at Super Bowl LX Opening Night in San Jose. “You would never in a million years think you’d be in this position, so it’s a huge blessing and a huge honor.”
After not starting each of his first two years, Thomas started 14 games this season and both of Seattle’s playoff games, becoming a consistent presence on a defense that’s helped propel the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl for the first time since Super Bowl XLIX against the New England Patriots — their opponent again this year in Super Bowl LX.
The Seattle D ranked sixth in fewest yards allowed (285.6 per game) for the regular season, and No. 1 in fewest points allowed (17.2 per game).
The challenge awaiting Thomas and Seattle’s defense is a Patriots offense led by quarterback Drake Maye, a potential NFL MVP, who has guided one of the league’s most productive offenses. New England finished the regular season as the second-highest scoring team in the NFL (28.8 per game), and third in total yards (379.4). Maye’s ability to extend plays and attack downfield has been central to the Patriots’ postseason run, putting added pressure on a Seahawks defense that will be tasked with slowing him down.
But Thomas enters the game with a lot of confidence. He recorded 96 total tackles (second on the team), 3.5 sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery in the regular season, and he’s added 12 total tackles in the playoffs.
His rise hasn’t followed a typical path, but it’s been shaped by steady growth on and off the field. As he’s grown as a player, he’s also become more rooted in his faith, and he proclaims it publicly with “Follower of Jesus Christ” in his Instagram bio.
“Jesus is everything to me,” he told Sports Spectrum. “Without Jesus, I’m not here. He’s the unshakeable foundation that I lean on in all situations.”
That foundation developed over time, particularly during moments of uncertainty early in his career. It’s also come from “learning you can’t do it by yourself,” Thomas said.
“Times feeling hopeless and searching for something that gives you hope,” he said. “I think those are the main things. Having something that you can really lean on and count on in those times. Jesus is that and more.”
Those lessons have been especially important in a league defined by evaluation and turnover. He understands how easily a player’s sense of worth and identity can become tied to performance, health or opportunity.
“This is such a performance-based industry, so it’s easy to fall into thinking that you’re only worth however you’re performing on the field,” he said. “Christ releases you of that. When you identify in Christ, you know you’re much more than whatever your film says on the field.”
Thomas has also seen that faith expressed throughout Seattle’s locker room. Over his three seasons with the Seahawks, he’s noticed consistent growth in the team’s chapel services.
“It’s been awesome,” he said. “I’ve seen the numbers in chapel grow over the past three years. It’s been really encouraging, and I’m hopeful even more people start showing up.”
Thomas and the Seahawks are set to face the Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
