While the Los Angeles Rams’ offense has not been up to par so far in the 2020 NFL season, there have been a few silver linings to take away on this side of the ball heading into the bye week.
Among them has been the play of left tackle Andrew Whitworth. The 15-year veteran signed a second three-year deal with the Rams and continues to provide plenty of bang for his buck despite being in the final stretch of his career.
The 38-year-old remains as the cornerstone for this otherwise young offensive line in L.A. Although defying the laws of Father Time is certainly no easy task, Whitworth is sating focused on the task at hand.
Whitworth feels he still has something to prove as long as he stays healthy and discussed the possibility of playing beyond this season, per Stu Jackson of the team’s official website:
“I’m never thinking about the longevity of a contract or what can happen,” Whitworth said. “I’m really more treating it like man, any day, somebody could take another step and be better than me and they want to put that person in. And so when I say year-to-year, it’s more the mentality to me of who’s over my shoulder, and what can I do to prove that this position is still mine, and there’s still a value for me to be on this football team? The rest of the season, the last half of the season, I want to go and prove that, and then after the season’s over, if they want me back and I feel like the body can do it and all those things, then of course I’ll sit down and make that decision.”
Rams quarterback Jared Goff also shared high praise for the example Whitworth has set as a leader:
“We’ve said it for a long time, the way he goes about his business every day is special and really sets the tone for us as an offense and as a team,” Goff said during a video conference earlier this month. “I mean, just seeing him here every day, seeing him do the right thing every day, the way he practices, the way he goes through walk-through, the way he thinks about things and talks about things is at the highest level in the league.”
Whitworth’s presence both on and off the field has clearly paid huge dividends for this offense. It is safe to say that no one has benefitted more from his efforts than Goff himself.
The Rams are currently No. 8 in total offense (396.4 yards per game) thanks to their ground game putting up over 137.8 yards per game. Meanwhile, Whitworth is slated to make history with the seventh-most career starts by an offensive lineman if he can finish out the year healthy.
