Andrew Whitworth has been saying for a few years now that he’s considering retirement, only to return to the field the following season. But after winning the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and beating the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, it seems this is actually the year that Whitworth calls it a career.
Though he has yet to officially announce his decision on the 2022 season, Whitworth is leaning toward retirement – something he’s said multiple times in the last few months. But on the “Dan Le Batard Show” Wednesday, Whitworth provided an update.
He said this past season was “most likely” his last and that he’ll make a final decision in a couple of weeks.
“You want to give it time,” he said. “To me, in a couple weeks I’ll sit down and make an official decision of some kind. You’ve got to get enough separation. Matthew (Stafford) and I were talking about it this weekend, last weekend was only seven days from the game. We could technically be playing a game on Monday night or Sunday night. You feel like you’re forever from it but the truth is, we’re only a week and a half from the game. So it’s like, really getting a couple weeks from the game, making sure you feel how you feel – how your body feels. Whether you’re wanting to attack another season or not, I think you’ve got to get a little bit of separation. Unfortunately, when you have a really long season like we did, you don’t have as much time, but you get as much as you can away from it and see where you’re at.”
“That brotherhood is so rare, it’s something you’ll have a hard time ever finding again.” – Andrew Whitworth on his potential retirement. pic.twitter.com/bBJnQsYQNc
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) February 23, 2022
Whitworth just wrapped up his fifth season with the Rams, which was also one of his best. His overall grade of 87.2 from Pro Football Focus was his highest since 2014, allowing just 20 total pressures in 18 games played.
Despite turning 40 in December, Whitworth showed no signs of slowing down or regressing at left tackle, which leaves no doubt that he could still play at a high level if he were to return in 2022.
That doesn’t seem likely, but at least Whitworth is going out on top as a Super Bowl champion.
