New England Patriots tight end Eli Raridon and his wife, Anna Raridon, announced that their newborn son, Peter James Raridon, died following a diagnosis discovered during pregnancy. The couple shared the news in a joint Instagram post.
“Our angel, Peter James Raridon, was born on September 11th,” the couple wrote. “When Eli and I went in for our 20-week anatomy scan, excited to see our sweet baby boy, our hearts were forever changed. Our little one was diagnosed with anencephaly, a fatal condition in which he would not survive outside the womb.”
“While we are absolutely devastated that we were unable to bring our baby boy home, I am grateful to have loved him deeply, kept him safe, and been his home for the past 9 months before he was called back to Heaven,” the post continued.
I have often found it easy to glorify the Lord when life is going well, but it is in our deepest trials that we are drawn closest to Him. We may never understand the why behind this journey, but one thing we know with certainty is that God promises to care for His children.
The couple added that they believe their son “was lovingly knitted together in the womb by God, knowing how deeply he would be loved by our families, our friends, Eli, and me.” They wrote that though his time with them was brief, “his life still precious, his purpose still meaningful, and he will forever be a part of our story.”
The Raridons included two passages of Scripture in their post, 1 Peter 1:5-7 and James 1:2-4. The latter reads: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Raridon attended the University of Notre Dame before the Patriots selected him in the third round of the 2026 draft.
