LA Rams: Let’s make this season be a memorable one, Big Whit

Even as the whisperings grow louder in volume, the LA Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth approaches this season like any other. Straight talking, smiling, and no bullshit. He is not a form sculptured like a Greek God of ancient mythology. He’s a blue-collar type, someone you could envision on horseback driving a herd, a younger brother to Haas Cartwright on the Ponderosa, or just a guy with a straw hat and coveralls tilling his farm.

Whether he had sought to do so or not, Andrew Whitworth is a liaison whose stature with the team has earned the respect of both players and coaches. Defensive line coach Eric Henderson was a former teammate of Whitworth during their time together with the Cincinnati Bengals. Now it’s Coach Henderson. But Andrew Whitworth has earned that same prestige and level of respect within the LA Rams organization.

Prestige and respect that grows with each passing year. This year, the man who is large and in charge of the LA Rams offensive line turns 40 years old. That is a huge landmark age for an NFL offensive linemen, as many retire or more likely are retired long before they get close to that age. That landmark itself may precipitate the retirement of his venerable career.

The Ageless One has been the axle upon which the tempo and cadence of the offensive line have galloped since head coach Sean McVay has overseen this organization. Perhaps it is that selflessness at the core of Whitworth’s being that has made this offensive line so very good over the past four years (minus that injury-induced outlier in 2019). Perhaps it is that same selfless perspective that has allowed the organization to fall to the bottom of the NFL compensation rankings for the offensive line unit, currently ranked at the 28th of 32 teams in that category.