SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Christian Elliss isn’t shy when it comes to talking about his Christian faith and what his family means to him.
The sixth-year NFL linebacker has been blessed in both regards.
And thanks to his belief — whether it’s in his faith, his family bonds or just in himself — the starting New England Patriots linebacker is on the cusp of a second chance to earn a Super Bowl ring.
He’ll suit up for the Patriots this Sunday in the Super Bowl (4:30 p.m. MST, NBC), when New England will face the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Three years ago, Elliss had that first opportunity — he was primarily playing special teams for the Philadelphia Eagles when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 38-35 in the 2023 Super Bowl.
Through all the trials of being an undrafted player, enduring a handful of cuts since entering the league — six or seven, by Elliss’ estimation — and being benched at times before finally landing a full-time starting role in New England, he’s kept the faith.
“It’s been a huge blessing. God has blessed me. Obviously, the position I’m in now, it wouldn’t have happened if all those things didn’t happen to me,” Elliss told the Deseret News on Thursday in an exclusive interview ahead of the Super Bowl.
“I’m very happy for my journey, happy how it’s gone. Obviously it could have gone smoother, but I believe that trials and tribulations produce character. They produce endurance, and I think it’s done nothing but help.”
A winding road to where he is now
Elliss’ football journey has included playing at Judge Memorial High in Salt Lake City, winning a pair of 3A Utah state championships with the Bulldogs, then moving to Colorado and playing for Valor Christian High when his father, Luther Elliss — the former University of Utah star — became the Denver Broncos team chaplain.
He followed that with four years at the University of Idaho, where Christian was a two-time first-team All-Big Sky selection.
Finding a home in the NFL took some trial and error — after going undrafted, Elliss signed with the Minnesota Vikings, though he was eventually released just before the regular season.
He then landed in Philadelphia on the Eagles’ practice squad, only to be let go a little more than a month later.
Elliss lasted a week with San Francisco on its practice squad, then returned to Philadelphia in late November 2021, where he eventually made his regular-season debut in Week 18.
It wasn’t until Elliss’ third NFL season, in 2023, that he saw significant time on defense.
Then, in Week 13, he made his first NFL start, after another linebacker was hurt. In that game, when the Eagles lost to the San Francisco 49ers 42-19, Elliss had six tackles and played 74.6% of the team’s defensive snaps.
What followed was a pivotal moment in his football life — he was cut by the Eagles for the last time.
“That’s when I was starting. I played against the 49ers. The team didn’t do well, but I felt like I played well,” Elliss said. “I was getting a handle on the defense of what they wanted me to do. And then, you know, got the call from (Eagles executive vice president) Howie (Roseman), and he released me.”
That led to a heart-to-heart talk with his father, at a time when Christian was a dad himself, with two kids.
“I remember being on the phone with my dad and just being like, ‘Dad, what am I doing? I’ve been cut so many times.’ I have a family. I got two little kids at the time, and he gave me encouragement,” Elliss said.
“He was just like, ‘Well, do you still love the game?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I still love the game.’ He said, ‘OK, do you feel like God still has you in this game?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I feel like God still has me in it.’ He said, ‘All right, well, then you’re not done.’”
In the NFL, once a player is waived, teams can place a waiver within 24 hours to claim that player — and six teams did so in his case.
New England was his next destination, playing under Bill Belichick at the tail end of his final season with the Patriots.
“That’s probably one of the hardest moments in my career, just because it felt like after things are starting to go well, starting to pick up, to just get cut. That was hard,” Elliss said. “But, again, it made me into the man I am today, and it’s done nothing but help me.”
The support of family
Elliss is blessed to have a strong contingent of brothers who are or have played in the NFL, as well as a father who was a two-time Pro Bowler after his storied career playing defensive tackle at the University of Utah.
Brother Kaden Elliss is with the Atlanta Falcons, also playing linebacker — he played alongside Christian in Idaho.
Jonah Elliss, who played for the Utes, is in Denver as a promising young edge rusher.
Noah Elliss has also played in the NFL as recently as two years ago, and he played in Philadelphia (and at Idaho) with Christian.
In a family of 14 (with seven adopted children), a third of Luther and Rebecca Elliss’ children have played in the NFL.
For Christian, it’s provided a built-in family sounding board for work talk.
“There’s a lot that we try to communicate. We try to bounce ideas off each other,” he said.
That includes film talk, discussing how to win the edge, or even what’s the best countermove.
“All those types of things are things that we talked about and we’re able to communicate and honestly grow together,” Elliss said.
He’s the only one to reach a Super Bowl, though, let alone two.
Following a 2024 season where Elliss finally had a chance to become an every-game starter late in the season after an injury to fellow linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, Elliss has produced a career year in 2025.
He started 13 games during the regular season, and that included a career-best 94 tackles to go with three QB hits, three pass deflections and a forced fumble in head coach Mike Vrabel’s first season as the Patriots’ coach.
During New England’s playoff run, Elliss has made several big plays. In three postseason games, he’s put up 16 tackles, two tackles for loss, two QB hits, two pass deflections, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
The most consequential play came in the AFC championship game, when the Patriots beat the Broncos 10-7 in a frigid Empower Field at Mile High Stadium.
Late in the second quarter, he strip-sacked Denver quarterback Jarrett Stidham inside the Broncos 20, a turnover that led to the game’s only touchdown.
That was also the first time Elliss had faced his brother, Jonah, in a game.
Cameras caught the postgame moment when the elder Elliss comforted his younger brother after the contest.
“It was amazing. I wasn’t always the greatest older brother, but you know, they’ve helped me grow. They’ve helped me become an amazing father,” Christian said. “They’ve helped me with my patience. They helped me with my kindness, my mercy, all the things you want.
“As a human, it stems from my family. It stems from my siblings. It stems from my brothers. And, you know, holding each other accountable. That’s something that you know I hold dear, and I know they do, too.”
His father, in particular, plays a significant role in his life. Luther Elliss is now the defensive line coach at the University of Utah, where he’s been the program’s defensive tackle coach since 2022.
Because of his father, “I’ve learned to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I think that’s the No. 1 thing he wants me to take from all everything he could teach me.
“Our faith is very important. It’s honestly the only thing that really matters. Everything else kind of comes from that. And then if I have to say another thing (he’s taught me), it would be the work ethic. I have the ability, I have the mentality. But with the ability and mentality, if you don’t have the work ethic to match it, then you aren’t going to reach your fullest potential.”
Not everyone in the family will be there Sunday to support Christian in his second attempt to win a Super Bowl, but “we got a lot of people coming, not everybody, but we got mostly everybody.”
A second chance at the Super Bowl
When the Patriots face the Seahawks on Sunday, it will provide Elliss another opportunity to earn that coveted Super Bowl ring.
The first experience provided powerful lessons for Elliss that he can apply this time around.
For example, just minutes after the Chiefs took their first lead of the game at 28-27 on a short Patrick Mahomes touchdown pass, the Eagles were forced to punt for just the second time all night with 10:33 to play.
What followed was a turning point in the game — one that Elliss has used as a lesson he reflects on as a reminder for this year’s Super Bowl.
He was on the field when Philadelphia’s Arryn Siposs punted the ball 38 yards. Kansas City’s Kadarius Toney fielded the punt at his own 30, made a cutback, then followed a wall of blockers on his way to a 65-yard return to the Eagles’ 5.
It stands as the longest punt return in Super Bowl history.
Elliss, lined on the left side of the Eagles formation, found himself out of position, like so many of his teammates on that play.
That set up a 4-yard touchdown pass three plays later, giving Kansas City a 35-27 lead.
While the Eagles rallied to tie the game at 35, the Chiefs ultimately won on a field goal with eight seconds to play.
Elliss’ takeaway from that game?
“Don’t chase plays. There’s a few times in that game where the defense or the special teams, or whatever it was, tried to do something outside of your scope, outside of your job description,” he said.
“I can think of that big punt return they had where Kansas City had the return to go all the way down to the 5-yard line. That was guys not doing their job. That was even me. I’ll take responsibility in that, too, not holding the edge, making sure the returner can’t bounce it back. And there’s a lot of pieces moving in that play, but that one sticks out to me because that’s the one I could have had an effect on.”
This year, Elliss is stressing discipline as the Patriots gear up to face the Seahawks.
“For this game this Sunday, it’s going to come down to not going outside of your job and not trying to make the play, but letting the play come to you,” he said.
The Patriots defense will face a Seattle offense that is averaging 36 points per game in the postseason and was third in the NFL in scoring during the regular season (28.4 points per game), behind quarterback Sam Darnold, running back Kenneth Walker III and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was named the Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year at the NFL Honors ceremony Thursday night.
“JSN (Smith-Njigba), he’s very talented, a very smooth route runner. He has all the tools that you want in a receiver,” Elliss said. “And then I think their biggest challenge on their team is Walker. I think he’s a dynamic runner. He’s very patient, he makes plays, he finds holes. He’s had a really good postseason run, and he’s been very dynamic for them.”
