Former Washington Redskins defensive end Ryan Kerrigan used his talents on the football field to bring glory to God throughout his career.
“That was His gift to me. My gift to Him was, ‘Okay, how am I gonna maximize these abilities and these talents and these opportunities that He’s given to me?’ And so I can’t squander these because I realize God hasn’t given these gifts to everybody else, and so I got to maximize them as a, you know, returning the gift to God,” Kerrigan explained on the “Sports Spectrum” podcast.
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“And so that was ultimately what I saw my purpose as in football, in terms of, you know, He’s given me so much,” the former NFL star continued, “let me pour it all out there. Let me pour it all into this, so ‘Hey, God, you gave me these gifts and they weren’t wasted. Like I’m gonna take them to the limit of of what you’ve given me.'”
Kerrigan keeps that same mindset in his career today.
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“That was always my mentality and still is my mentality to this day,” he said. “Just like hey, whatever I’m given, I want to just maximize to the best of my ability because you go through life, and whether it’s professionally or whether you’re in society, you realize how blessed and fortunate you are, and you just want to live up to the standards that you know that God set for you — to maximize the abilities and opportunities and the relationships that He’s given you.”
During his career, Kerrigan was an elite, durable pass rusher who played 11 seasons in the NFL. He played the majority of his career with the Redskins before heading to the Philadelphia Eagles for one season in 2021. He announced his NFL retirement in 2022, signing a one-day contract with the Washington Commanders — formerly Redskins — to end his career with the team he spent most of his time with.
After his time as a player, Kerrigan joined the Commanders coaching staff to give back to the organization that gave him so much. He spent four years as a defensive coach with Washington, where he was named as the assistant defensive coach in 2025. He was also inducted into Washington’s Greatest Players list during his time as a coach.
But for Kerrigan, it was never about the accolades or the attention; it was about using his God-given talents and abilities to bring glory to the Lord.
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