New England Patriots rookie tight end Eli Raridon and his wife, Anna, shared heartbreaking news on Tuesday afternoon: their newborn son, Peter James, died shortly after birth.
The couple said their baby boy had been diagnosed during a routine 20-week anatomy scan with anencephaly, a severe and incurable neural tube defect that prevents parts of the brain and skull from developing correctly. Doctors told them their child would not survive outside the womb.
Even with that grim diagnosis, Anna carried Peter James to term. He was born on September 11 and passed away shortly after.
“Our angel, Peter James Raridon, was born on September 11th,” a post on Anna’s Instagram account reads. “When Eli and I went in for our 20th-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 had been his home for the past nine months before he was called back to Heaven.”
Anna and Eli were married in May of 2025, and Peter was their first child.
On the field, Raridon has already given the Patriots a few reasons to notice him. Selected in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame, he has appeared in two games this season.
In the opener against the Seattle Seahawks, he caught his first NFL pass and turned it into a two-yard touchdown. He followed that with a 30-yard reception in a week two win over Pittsburgh before a nagging thigh injury kept him out of the week three game.
Through it all, the rookie is dealing with an overwhelming loss while continuing to receive support from the community.
In Other News...
Anthony Richardson's Colts Future Just Became A Real Midseason Watch
For now, the Colts are treating Anthony Richardson Sr. like a quarterback they still want in the building, even with the noise that has followed him around in recent months. According to ESPNs Jeremy Fowler, Indianapolis is not looking to move Richardson and has not been fielding trade calls, while the Giants have not even reached out about his availability.
Still, the broader picture has not gone away. The fact that a deal before the NFL deadline later this year remains possible keeps Richardson squarely in the middle of a midseason storyline, especially for a team trying to balance patience with urgency at the games most important position. For the Colts, this is less about chatter than about how long they can keep the conversation from turning into something more serious. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Came Uncomfortably Close To A Kicking Crisis Against Houston
Spencer Shraders afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium almost turned into a special-teams stress test before the Colts even kicked off against Houston. The kicker picked up a groin injury in warm-ups, then went on to handle the job anyway, making every field goal he tried and finishing the day with a game-winning 53-yarder that kept Indianapolis from having to sort out the chaos of an in-game replacement.
Still, the Colts had a plan ready if Shrader had been unable to go. Special teams coordinator Brian Mason said punter Rigoberto Sanchez would have taken over as the emergency kicker, a role he has handled before in college when he was responsible for all kicking duties. Indianapolis also had backup options lined up for snapping and holding, the kind of detail work teams usually hope stays invisible unless the situation turns uncomfortable fast. [Read more 🡒]
Laiatu Latus Slow Start Is Fueling A Painful Colts Fear
Laiatu Latu arrived in Indianapolis with the kind of first-round promise that usually changes the shape of a pass rush, and he gave the Colts enough of that impact as a rookie to leave real expectations for a second-year jump. Instead, through three games this season, the production has not moved forward the way the Colts hoped. His sack total and pressure numbers have both dipped from where they were before, and a chest contusion in Week 3 only added to the sense that the defender they are counting on has yet to find his stride.
For a Colts defense that has spent too much time searching for consistency up front, Latu's slump is more than a personal concern. Indianapolis needs him to look like the player who flashed last season, because the pass rush has not been reliable enough without that kind of edge threat carrying it. The worry now is not just about a slow start, but whether the team can afford to wait much longer for its top young rusher to rediscover the form that made him such an important part of the plan. [Read more 🡒]