Former NFL QB Says God Used His Injuries for a Greater Purpose

Luke McCown
CHARLOTTE, NC – SEPTEMBER 27: Luke McCown #7 of the New Orleans Saints warms up against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on September 27, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

By Mallory Mattingly

Through missed career opportunities and injuries, former NFL quarterback Luke McCown discovered an even greater God-given purpose.

“Throughout my career, I found purpose in all the ways that my career went. I didn’t, I wasn’t like Josh [his brother], I didn’t get to have 40 or 50 starts in the NFL,” McCown began to say on the “Sports Spectrum” podcast. “I got to have 10, I think, and through a certain a series of circumstances, due to injury, I missed opportunities that maybe would have given me better chances to become at least a part-time starter.”

“But I found so much purpose in what He [God] was doing in my life and that each opportunity or each injury or missed opportunity, rather, led to opportunities not on the field but in the locker room to share what I was going through and how it might have impact on somebody else’s life,” the former quarterback continued as he pointed to his Bible.

“There was purpose in my, I don’t want to call it suffering, right? Because there’s so much worse than dealing with a torn ACL in the NFL, right? But, it was a hardship in my life that was disruptive to my plans, and yet God was going, ‘I’m positioning you for something else,'” McCown explained.

Related: Former NFL QB Luke McCown Talks Importance of Prayer 

McCown’s playing career ended in 2016 after 12 years in the NFL. He played on teams including the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints

Today, the former athlete speaks vocally about his faith on X, recently resharing Jason Romano’s post that featured John 1: 45-46:

“Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip.”

McCown also makes his opinions on current NFL and college quarterbacks known.

In one post, he spoke about the recent comments from ESPN that Shedeur Sanders should ask to be released from Cleveland because he won’t get playing time.

However, McCown has a different take.

“2007 in my 3rd yr, I had worked my way back from an ACL injury the previous year in Tampa to being a backup behind Jeff Garcia. In the first game of the year, Jeff gets dinged up in a blowout loss and I go in for about 6 plays.. I come to work the next week and was (without any heads up or explanation, or discussion) demoted to 3rd QB. P*** off, disappointed, are understatements…I had worked my tail off back from the injury. I played extremely well through 4 preseason games, I earned that spot. But I was demoted without a word,” he wrote on X.

“Ultimately, I found out the thought process behind it was they felt Bruce Gradkowski was better coming in off the bench mid-game, but if it was a situation where I had the full week to prepare, they wanted me to start,” McCown continued. “Which is exactly what happened in week 12 against the New Orleans Saints. When given an entire week of game plan and preparation, they told me I was starting and I did and played extremely well and we won and sealed the division. If I don’t have that game, I probably don’t play in the league for 13 years.”

He emphasized: “Shedeur, don’t ask for a trade, or to be released, there’s not a market out there for you right now. You’re time very well may be just around the corner, where they want you to have a full week to prepare.”

McCown remained grateful for his journey in the NFL. Without the injuries and setbacks, he would have never found his purpose of sharing Christ with as many players and coaches as he did.

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