Throughout a tumultuous follow-up campaign to their Super Bowl-winning season, the Los Angeles Rams have had a revolving lineup along their offensive line.
Yet, the Rams' former Pro Bowl left tackle, Andrew Whitworth, has remained firmly entrenched in retirement.
However, might Whitworth consider unretiring for his other former NFL squad, which has locked up a playoff spot? There's at least a smidgeon of a possibility.
"I've said this since the day I retired, I'll never say never," Whitworth said on The Season with Peter Schrager podcast. "There's always a chance."
With Bengals starting right tackle La'el Collins out for the season after suffering a torn ACL on Saturday, Cincinnati needs help in the worst way. Enter Whitworth?
"I love adventures," Whitworth told Schrager, who first brought up this hypothetical this week on Good Morning Football. "I love taking on chances. So, to me there's always one. Obviously, there's a lot of things that would go into it. I mean, I'm technically under contract still with the Rams, and I'd have to, I'd have to kick off the old, uh, dust a little bit and see if I could see if these tires could still move a little bit. But you know what, I'd, I'd never say no to the option, but, you know, I don't know. It'd have to be a sit-down convo with, with [my wife] Melissa and the kids and say, 'Hey, can we do this again or not?'"
Whitworth concluded his career (at least up to this point) in storybook fashion. He made 15 starts in the 2021 regular season before starting in three of four Rams postseason wins, including a Supe Bowl LVI conquest over these same Bengals. A day prior to the Super Bowl win, he was also recognized as the 2021 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year.
He went out a winner, celebrated on and off the field for his excellence.
Since then Whitworth has been a part of Prime Video's first-year coverage of Thursday Night Football.
With the TNF schedule wrapping up this week with a Dallas Cowboys-Tennessee Titans matchup, heading back to where it all began in Cincy and making another postseason run isn't all that bad of an option.
Taken by the Bengals in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft, Whitworth notched four Pro Bowl bids and two All-Pro selections during his career. He played 11 seasons with the Bengals before five with the Rams. During his Rams tenure he finally began to get the spotlight and credit for his play, which had been phenomenal throughout but went largely unnoticed on the Bengals.
In his 2021, age-40 season, Whitworth earned a stellar 86.1 PFF grade. So, rusty as he might be at this moment, he retired while playing at an elite level.
One caveat, though, is that Whitworth played on the left side. He'd most likely be asked to fill in for Collins at right tackle. And one prevailing aspect for Whitworth is he wouldn't want to be an addition that hinders the Bengals' chances.
"I've played with Jaylen Ramsey, Richard Sherman, different guys," Whitworth said. "We talk all the time. I think sometimes people don't understand when you flip sides, what a challenge that is when you've only done it one way. And I've only played left tackle my entire career. So, when you flip your feet and play the other way, it's very challenging. It's almost like you've never done it before in some senses. There's only a few guys that are good at it. So, for me, it really wouldn't be about tarnishing the legacy. It'd be about I don't wanna let those guys down. Yeah, I want, Joe Burrow and those guys that have all the success possible and it'd be more about not knowing really how well you'd be playing.
"I feel good, I feel great in that sense, and I would be confident, but I wouldn't want to go in there and mess up their chances not knowing really what I'm capable of."
Obviously, regardless of whether Whitworth is willing to make a comeback, the Bengals would need to come calling. At least for now it seems they are likely to go with backup right tackle Hakeem Adeniji to fill Collins' role.
"We have good people in the building that we trust," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said, via ESPN's Ben Baby.
There are two games remaining in the regular season for the Bengals and at least one playoff game ahead. So, depending on how things go up front for the Bengals, to quote Whitworth, "never say never."
