For the last five years, the Rams have had Andrew Whitworth as their starting left tackle. He’s manned that post since signing as a free agent in 2017, doing an excellent job protecting both Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford.
But after 16 seasons, Whitworth is calling it a career, retiring from the NFL on Tuesday. The Rams had to know this was coming, not only because Whitworth was hinting at retiring for weeks, but also because they signed Joseph Noteboom to a three-year extension worth up to $47.5 million this week.
As tough as it is to see Whitworth go, he leaves the Rams with some extra spending money. According to Over The Cap, Whitworth’s retirement clears $16 million in cap space for Los Angeles this year. So his cap hit drops from $17.67 million if he were to remain with the team, all the way to $1.67 million, which is in the form of dead money.
So as of now, the Rams are $22.95 million over the cap before Whitworth’s contract comes off. Once it officially comes off the books, the Rams will be about $6.95 million over the cap, a much more manageable number.
Whitworth still had one year left on his contract in 2022 but with the way his deal was structured when he signed it in 2020, he doesn’t leave much dead money behind by retiring.
