THOUSAND OAKS, CA — Andrew Whitworth is not your typical 39-year old offensive lineman, his talent, grit and willingness to continue high level is exemplified on the field, however at the stage of his career, he is moving mountains on and off the field.
He is not your typical 39-year old offensive lineman who can still protect his quarterback. Whitworth knows every thing in the book to ensure that Matthew Stafford will be upright, long enough to get the ball out of his hands to either a wide receiver or running back to extend the drive.
Building chemistry with a slightly new roster that included rookies, was important for Whitworth who appeared at voluntary OTA’s.
“It’s real important this time of year for guys to really hone in on what they need to do well, (with) their techniques and what they see, what they understand and what they don’t know,” Whitworth explained. “The off season time to me is obviously really good to be together, we get out on the field and take some snaps and just have that camaraderie time. When you love this game of being out on the grass and getting together and doing drills and things, but it’s really about that individual mentally of what can you do to get better and be ready for the season.”
Whitworth has been the constant professional his entire career and one reason for that beyond the work ethic, drive, hard work and determination to be great, he had a great mentor with jewels of wisdom.
“I remember Anthony Munoz when I was in Cincinnati someone whom I leaned on a lot as a mentor of mine, and one the greatest to play the game. He used to always tell me ‘the off season is the time to be selfish’,” Whitworth said. “It’s the time to really hone on what it is you do and really fine tune those skills. So when you get together in camp and you get together in the season it’s really about executing football.”
A lot has been accomplished thus far as it pertains to communication between himself and Stafford, however they continue to learn every day to perfect by the beginning of the season. Whitworth has the football IQ and heart of gold off the field from him and his wife donating money to save a famous Inglewood restaurant (The Serving Spoon) from closing it’s doors, to helping victims of the Wildfires a few years ago that ravaged throughout various communities throughout Southern California.
He has donated his time to the youth of Southern California as well, as he turns 40 years old in December and still playing the game he loves is an accomplishment all it’s own.
“If we get there, and we have that opportunity, it will be a really cool feat,” he said.
Head coach Sean McVay was impressed at Whitworth’s return to the field during OTA’s.
“He had his sleeves rolled up today, looking like he just hit some (biceps) curls. I think when you look at it, his ability to even come back and play after that injury, and play at the level that he did against Seattle and Green Bay, it’s incredible. It’s a credit to who he is,” McVay said.
The Rams will have mandatory workouts beginning next Tuesday at their practice facility in Thousand Oaks.
