Four-time Pro Bowler Derek Carr just spoke about his faith during a press conference and, in his remarks, made it clear that he intends to put and keep God first. After signing a $150 million contract with the New Orleans Saints, he said “My faith is number 1. That will never change, no matter what, good or bad.”
Continuing, Carr went on to say, “We like to make sure that the impact we’re making isn’t for everyone to see.” That was likely a reference to, or at least an opinion informed by, Matthew 6:1-2. In those two verses, Jesus said, “Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.”
Continuing, Carr then said “For us, there’s a lot of stuff we do that — it’s the one person that you run into at Target that may need a little help, or there’s that one person at the gas station. We always try to be open to that, and what the Lord is saying to us.”
Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said, in a statement about Carr joining the team, “We are excited to welcome Derek Carr to the New Orleans Saints. Derek’s experience, leadership and skillset will be an asset to our offense.”
He added “My faith is number one. That’ll never change, no matter what, good or bad.”
The move to New Orleans will reunite Carr with head coach Dennis Allen, under whose leadership he played during his 2014 rookie season. Allen, commenting on Carr in a statement, said:
“I had the opportunity to work with Derek at the start of his professional football career. In addition to his talent, I admired his approach to the game, work ethic and commitment to get better every day in what were the formative stages of his career.
“From afar and when we played him as an opponent, I saw Derek’s development into one of the most productive quarterbacks in the National Football League. Derek is an outstanding addition to the New Orleans Saints and I can’t wait to get working with him and the rest of our team this offseason.”
Carr isn’t the only football star to make his faith a prominent part of his life and career. Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, a devout Christian, was asked about the role that faith plays in his life and what he would be asking God for on Sunday. Here is his answer:
“I usually keep my prayers to myself, but I say, ‘God knows, God knows’. And you know, I lean on Him, I really lean on Him and I try and keep Him in the center of everything I do because I know, without God, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t be the man I am today, without having that faith in him, without having integrity, and leadership and diligence and all those things. But, you know I think the biggest thing is you get so influenced by so much around you, you just wanna pray that you’re the person that God called you to be. So, that’s what imma do, you know, be who God called me to be.”
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