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'My Identity Always Has Been in Christ': New Orleans Saints QB Jameis Winston Has Successful Start to the Season

'My Identity Always Has Been in Christ': New Orleans Saints QB Jameis Winston Has Successful Start to the Season

On Sunday, New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston threw five touchdown passes as the 2021 NFL season kicked off.

According to CBN News, Sunday's game between the Saints and the Green Bay Packers was moved from New Orleans to Jacksonville, Florida, because of ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Ida, which made landfall late last month.

Winston, who was recently named the successor to former Saints quarterback Drew Brees, threw five touchdown passes as the Saints won 38-3 against the Packers.

In March, Brees retired from the NFL after playing for 20 seasons. Sunday's game was the first time the Saints played without their longtime quarterback.

Winston, 27, is a professing Christian who has been outspoken about his faith.

In a post on Instagram in July, Winston posted a pic of himself pointing his fingers upward as a sign that he is giving glory to God. In the image's caption, he shared Philippians 4:13, which reads, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

Jamis Winston pointing to the sky

In a 2019 interview with Sports Spectrum, the quarterback asserted that his identity is in Jesus Christ and not football.

"I've been through ups and downs," Winston told the outlet. "But one thing about me is I always knew that my identity wasn't in football, that it wasn't in baseball. I knew that my identity always has been in Christ."

"All the glitz and glamour, all that, it didn't really matter because I'm not doing this for, I'm doing it for God," he continued. "I'm doing it for God's pleasure. I'm not doing it for man's pleasure or for my own fame. So, I had to understand that, and once I made that commitment in November 2014, I knew that was just the beginning."

Winston also emphasized that God's grace is sufficient for him, whether or not his football career continues to succeed.

"He loves us no matter what. He is forgiving of us. His grace is so sufficient," he said.

In 2015, Winston signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after playing football for Florida State University. He was later picked up by the Saints in 2020. Winston is also the receiver of numerous sports accolades, including the Heisman Trophy in 2013, the ACC Athlete of the Year/Anthony J. McKevlin Award in 2014 and the Pepsi Next Rookie of the Year Award in 2016.

Winston will lead the Saints against the Carolina Panthers next Sunday in Charlotte.

Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Sam Greenwood/Staff

Milton QuintanillaMilton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.