Joe Burrow has quickly emerged as one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the NFL, leading the Cincinnati Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance in only his second professional season.
Burrow’s fast path to stardom began at the collegiate level when he led the LSU Tigers to a national championship and won the Heisman Trophy in 2020. He was then selected by the Bengals with the No. 1 overall pick in that year’s NFL Draft.
Burrow’s rookie season with the team was one to forget as he went just 2-7 before tearing his ACL in Week 10 and missing the rest of the year.
The 25-year-old rehabbed his injury in California, where he befriended Los Angeles Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth, who was working his way back from a torn MCL, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk:
“When I got hurt, I lived about 40 minutes from where he was living. And we were both hurt at the same time, so I would go over to his house and watch the games on Sunday,” Burrow said Monday. “We did that — I think I spent my birthday at his house and I also spent his birthday at his house. So that was kind of a cool thing that he did for me, reaching out to me and making the rehab process a little easier — being in California, away from a lot of people who were close to me. He kind of took me in and we had some good times hanging out, watching football, and talking about the Bengals and LSU and all that. So he’s become a good friend.”
Despite the 15-year age gap, Burrow and Whitworth share many connections. In addition to their knee injuries, both players went to LSU and suited up for the Bengals.
Whitworth spent 11 seasons with Cincinnati before signing with the Rams as a free agent in 2017 and is looking forward to playing his former team in Super Bowl LVI.
While Burrow’s ACL injury sidelined him for the rest of the 2020 season, Whitworth returned from his torn MCL in time for the Rams’ playoff run. L.A. defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card Round before suffering a loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round.
With Burrow and Whitworth now healthy and ready to face off in the biggest game of the year, one of them is guaranteed to leave SoFi Stadium on Sunday as a Super Bowl champion.
