Fall 2024
Football

15 Christ-following NFL players to watch in 2024

By Kevin Mercer and Jon Ackerman Sep 5, 2024
From left: Bijan Robinson, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Brock Purdy, Demario Davis, Lamar Jackson. (AP Photos)

As the 2024 NFL season kicks off, optimism abounds for every player and team. They hope this will be the season they have envisioned and trained for.

Perhaps in the NFL more than any other professional sports league, a large number of those players are also outspoken followers of Christ. It would be near impossible to list all of them, but here are 15 (in no particular order) to watch this season.

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Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens quarterback
Lamar Jackson’s six years in Baltimore have been one of the golden eras in Ravens history. With Jackson at the helm, the team has posted a winning record and made the playoffs in all but one season (2021, when they went 8-9), and Jackson has made three Pro Bowls and won two NFL MVPs in the process (2019, 2023). However, a trip to the Super Bowl has alluded Jackson and his team. With a number of key returners, Jackson believes the 2024 campaign could be the year the Ravens finally break through. When asked in 2019 how he stays humble despite his success, Jackson answered, “The Lord. I give Him all His praise, the glory, the honor. … If you feel like you’re bigger than the Lord, that’s when all that success dies, it goes away. You got to let Him know He’s the reason you [have had] that much success.”

Justin Simmons, Atlanta Falcons safety
Justin Simmons proved himself time and again to be one of the best safeties in the NFL during his eight seasons with the Denver Broncos, earning two Pro Bowl (2020, 2023) and four second-team All-Pro (2019, 2021-23) selections, and sharing the NFL lead with six interceptions in 2022. He has an impressive 30 interceptions in his career. Now at the age of 30, after having been waived by the Broncos in March and signed by the Falcons in August, Simmons is eager to prove he’s still one of the best defensive players in the league. What’s more, he saw God’s faithfulness even during uncertainty about his NFL future. “God is so good,” Simmons said in June. “I’m so thankful for this time and for His faithfulness in terms of slowing me down and not taking things for granted. This offseason has been such a blessing.”

 

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A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver
Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, has shown nothing but love for A.J. Brown since the 27-year-old was traded from the Titans to the Eagles during the 2022 NFL Draft. In Philly, Brown has eclipsed 1,400 receiving yards in both 2022 and 2023 while scoring 18 touchdowns and being selected to the Pro Bowl both seasons (he also made the Pro Bowl in 2020). Brown’s 1,456 receiving yards a year ago was the fifth-most in the NFL. He will seek to continue his success as the Eagles seek to earn a spot in the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons. Before the Eagles’ Super Bowl LVII loss to Kansas City, Brown told Sports Spectrum that “I had plans and God had other plans. I try not to lean on my own understanding. I read the Bible a lot because that’s how I fight my problems. I’m not trying to stand up here and be a perfect guy because I’m not; nobody is. But I just lean heavily on my faith and try to let Him direct my paths.”

Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers quarterback
It’s difficult to believe Brock Purdy is entering just his third season as a member of the 49ers. From being “Mr. Irrelevant” in the 2022 NFL Draft to overcoming a season-ending injury to being an MVP candidate to losing in a Super Bowl, Purdy has had more experiences than many players in their entire careers. Now coming off that Super Bowl loss but with many key teammates returning, Purdy and his 49ers believe they can close the deal in 2024 and win the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl (but first since 1994). Through the highs and lows of his career, Purdy has given glory to Jesus Christ. “If you’re trying to chase status and money and all this kind of stuff, you’ll lose your life, rather than denying yourself, picking up your cross, keeping your eyes on Jesus and His promises,” Purdy said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in February 2023. “That’s a life worth living.”

Demario Davis, New Orleans Saints linebacker
Demario Davis has been terrorizing NFL offenses for 12 seasons now, racking up 1,257 combined tackles and transforming himself into one of the best and most respected leaders in the league. And the scariest part? He’s only getting better with age. The 35-year-old has surpassed 100 tackles in each of his six seasons in New Orleans, and he was either a first- or second-team All-Pro in each of the last five. Davis’ time in New Orleans has also seen him become one of the most outspoken followers of Christ in the NFL. “Why am I still playing? It’s because God is not done with what He’s doing with me in the game yet,” Davis said on Fox Sports Radio last month. “I’ll play as long as He tells me to keep going, because it’s Him that’s extending my platform because He knows what I’m gonna do with it. He knows every time I get in a seat like this, I’m gonna give glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas Raiders kicker
After three consecutive seasons in which he made more than 90% of his field goals, Daniel Carlson took a slight step back in 2023, making 86.7%. The 29-year-old two-time All-Pro is preparing for 2024 to look like 2020, when he made a career-best 94.3% of his field goals — or like 2022, when he finished third in the NFL in points scored and made an impressive 11 of 13 field goals from beyond 50 yards. Carlson has also spoken about his faith, thanking God for the ways he’s seen His goodness throughout his career and frequently referencing his favorite Bible passage, Proverbs 3:5-6. “It is such a cool, surreal experience to look back on all that God has given me,” he said in 2018. “Playing is my form of worship. It is how I glorify Him. And all of this is so much better than I ever expected.” He also appeared on the Sports Spectrum Podcast this June.

 

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Camryn Bynum, Minnesota Vikings safety
California native Camryn Bynum hasn’t seemed too bothered by the Minnesota cold thus far in his three-year NFL career. He was a full-time starter by 2022, he’s snagged five interceptions in the league, and in 2023 he led all NFL non-linebackers with a whopping 137 combined tackles. Bynum will look to build on that in 2024, earn his first Pro Bowl selection, and help the Vikings finish above .500 and return to the playoffs after missing out in 2023. Bynum, who has Filipino heritage, is passionate about supporting the people of the Philippines, and for him, it all begins with Christ. “The mission was to serve God first and foremost,” Bynum said last season about wearing cleats to support the Bynum Family Foundation he and his family began. “… Our faith is our foundation, and that’s where we want to start with any type of serving. That’s the No. 1 thing.”


Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons quarterback
In a 12-year NFL career in which he’s often defied the odds, Kirk Cousins is hoping to do it again in 2024. Now in a Falcons uniform after signing with Atlanta in March, and coming off of a season-ending Achilles injury last October, with his apparent successor waiting in the wings, the 36-year-old four-time Pro Bowler believes he can still perform at the level he’s grown accustomed to throughout his impressive career. This time, he hopes it all culminates in a trip to the Super Bowl that has for so long eluded him. Yet despite his desire for football success, Cousins has spoken throughout his lengthy career of the goodness, grace and sufficiency of Jesus Christ in his life. And he calls any who would listen to respond to the Gospel as well. “The Bible makes it very clear that the best decision you will ever make, far beyond where to throw a football, is the decision of who will be the Master of your life,” Cousins said at the 2020 Super Bowl Breakfast. “Will you allow Jesus Christ to become Lord of your life, and have control of your life? And will you serve Him?”

Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers safety
A four-time Pro Bowler, Minkah Fitzpatrick missed career-high seven games last year as he dealt with hamstring and knee injuries. Having him back for more of the season will only improve a defense that ranked sixth in the NFL in points allowed last season (19.1 per game). Despite missing significant time on the field, his work away from the field was honored, as Fitzpatrick received the Bart Starr Award, given annually to a player who best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field, and in the community. “I’m nothing but a product of a man who sits at the feet of Jesus, at the foot of the cross and lets Him mold his heart, mold his mind,” he said in his acceptance speech.

 

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Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens running back
After eight years, four Pro Bowls and 9,502 rushing yards (plus 90 touchdowns) with the Tennessee Titans, Derrick Henry will suit up for the Ravens in 2024. He’s 30, an age at which many in the NFL believe running backs start to break down, but he has a history of durability; 2021 is the only season in which Henry has missed more than one game. He’s surpassed 1,000 yards rushing in five of the past six years (that ’21 season being the exception), and now joins a Ravens team that led the NFL in rushing last season (156.5 yards per game). QB Lamar Jackson led that rushing attack, but now hopes to have Henry carry more of the load. “I always feel connected to God,” Henry said in 2022. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the Man Upstairs. So me putting that cross on my face, that’s just an extra recognition to the Man Upstairs. I put God first in everything I do, and I wouldn’t be where I am without Him.”

Alex Anzalone, Detroit Lions linebacker
As the Lions captured their first NFC North title in 30 years in 2023, Alex Anzalone played a key role. He set career highs with 129 total tackles, 85 solo tackles and three sacks; it marked his second straight season getting 125 tackles. Now, the Lions have Super Bowl aspirations after reaching the NFC Championship Game but blowing a 24-7 lead. They’ll once again be led by Anzalone, who’s been named a captain each of the three years he’s been in Detroit. And he’ll be led by his faith, which has grown stronger since having two children but also enduring a miscarriage with his wife, Lindsey. “I think just the faith foundation that we had within our relationship and also just the trust we had in God and having God is definitely what helped us get through that dark time,” he said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in June.

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans quarterback
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, C.J. Stroud met (and often exceeded) just about any expectation the Texans could have had for his first year. He led the league in passing yards per game (273.9); set the single-game record for passing yards by a rookie quarterback (470); finished with 4,557 total passing yards, the second-most in NFL history for a rookie, and a total that included two postseason games, the Texans’ first playoff appearance in four years; and he was named a Pro Bowler and the Offensive Rookie of the Year. Throughout it all, Stroud boldly professed is faith in Christ. “I do believe in the perfect One,” he said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in August. “And He’s the One who keeps me humble. He’s the One who gave me my talents and He will get the glory for it right back.”

Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end
Trey Hendrickson has earned Pro Bowl nods every year since he joined Cincinnati in 2021. He turned in a career-high 14 sacks that first season, but followed up with only eight in 2022, even though that still led the Bengals defense. Last season, he rebounded with a career-high 17.5, which was second in the NFL. Cincy missed the playoffs after two consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances, so Hendrickson will be looked upon to lead the Bengals back. “My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is more to me than just football,” Hendrickson said in 2022. “… So it’s one of those things that anything that I do on the field is to glorify Him, through Him for Him for His glory.”


Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons running back
It’s the beginning of a new era in Atlanta with new head coach Raheem Morris and new quarterback Kirk Cousins, but the Falcons are building upon a young core of playmakers. Atop that group is Bijan Robinson, the No. 8 overall pick from 2023 who rushed for 976 yards, added 487 receiving yards, and totaled eight touchdowns as a rookie. He hopes to be a big reason Atlanta gets into the postseason for the first time in seven years. After the Falcons selected him in the draft, Robinson made sure to give glory to God, and he’s continued since. His Twitter bio says, “God is the only way,” and his banner image features six words: “Faith. Believe. Trust. Let God Work!” His Instagram bio reads, “Trust in the Lord” and “Let’s make God famous!”

Bo Nix, Denver Broncos quarterback
The last of six quarterbacks taken in the 2024 draft’s first round, Bo Nix (No. 12 overall) will be one of three rookie QBs to start in Week 1. He’s also the first rookie starter to open a season at QB for the Broncos since John Elway in 1983, and he was named a team captain, making him the first Broncos rookie to earn such an honor since Floyd Little in 1967. It’s new territory — yet it’s not. He became a starting QB on his high school team when he was still in eighth grade, and became the first true freshman to start a season at quarterback for Auburn since 1946. Through the many football games he’s played leading up to his pro debut, Nix has leaned on Christ. “My faith is really important to me,” he said in his first press conference with the Broncos. “I’ve always been a faith-based person. I believe that God has a plan for me and my life. I truly believe that He has set this path in front of me, and He put me here in Denver for a reason.”

 

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