Former NFL WR Knows God Was With Him Amid Life-Altering Accident

Published: January 15, 2026

pexels-lucasandrade-2862718 — Photo by Lucas Andrade via Pexels

By Mallory Mattingly

Former NFL wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi knows that God was with him when an accident resulted in the loss of four of his fingers.

“Before I knew it, my ATV loses control and the next thing I feel is something that feels like an explosion went off in my hand,” Massaquoi told the Players’ Tribune in 2018 recalling the accident which occurred in April 2017. He lost four fingers on his left hand.

“You can see the panic and the fear in everybody, so you know it’s not good, but you can’t really tell what’s going on because there’s nothing that will prepare you for what’s to come,” he explained.

That was one of the scariest days Massaquoi ever experienced, but throughout, he knew God was with him.

“The irony of that — you think about faith, man. God is still in it. I was wrestling with, ‘Okay, God, what should I do in this season of life?’ And this particular day, I had an off day from work and was like, ‘You know what? This is a ride to kind of clear my head, because I feel like God is sending me through a transitional moment.’ And that’s the day that the accident happened,” the wide receiver told Sports Spectrum’s Matt Forte.

“And the irony of that, that day was actually Good Friday. The day that I’m seeking God to figure out what to do in life is the day that, you know, literally, my life gets flipped upside down,” he continued. “But I think when you’re in it, and you think, ‘Man, God, you know, do you still remember me? Hey, God, you know, why is this happening? It’s so difficult, you know? Why did football go away?'”

“And you’re like, you’re really having some time to just sit and wrestle with what’s going on,” he added. “And you realize God is just really cultivating your experience in life for what you should be. And there’s no way I can do what I do now without having all the things that have happened in life.”

Massaquoi entered the NFL as a second-round draft pick in 2009. He played for four seasons, CBS Sports reported.

Today, he is a “global keynote speaker and leadership coach helping executives and organizations perform through change,” per his Instagram bio.

It’s incredible to see how God used such a scary and life-altering accident to change the trajectory of Massaquoi’s life in a way he didn’t expect.

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