If playing left tackle in the Super Bowl at age 40 weren’t impressive enough, Andrew Whitworth just raised the stakes even higher.
The Los Angeles Rams veteran was selected as the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year on Thursday night, the top off-field honor an NFL player can receive.
One day later, Whitworth said he figured out he was the winning recipient prior to the announcement. He said multiple NFL personnel members approached him to see if his speech was ready.
Regardless, he was honored to win the prestigious award, which recognizes “outstanding community service activities off the field, as well as excellence on it.” Whitworth is dedicated to numerous causes in Southern California and his native Louisiana related to housing insecurity and financial inequities.
“Our game is driven by the fans and the communities that pay attention and watch and buy jerseys and come to games,” Whitworth said Friday. “In the ways I give back to my communities, it shows my respect for the communities. … I believe in paying forward. To me, community service is important.”
Whitworth has spent the past five seasons with the Rams after playing his first 11 seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals — Los Angeles’ opponent in Super Bowl LVI.
Rams coach Sean McVay said he is just in awe of Whitworth’s accomplishments.
“I can’t say enough about what he has meant to me personally as a coach and a person,” McVay said. “I’m so grateful for him. He’s been an instrumental part in everything that is right about the Rams the last five years.”
During his acceptance speech on Thursday night, Whitworth called on his peers to step up their level of community service.
“It’s called an investment,” Whitworth said. “You can apply these three things to any charity or cause you have a passion for. You can invest your time, you can invest your finances or you can invest your voice. Doesn’t matter which, we just have to keep investing in each other. Let your heart lead you all the way.”
Whitworth doesn’t yet know if he will play a 17th NFL season. He said he would talk to him family after the Super Bowl.
“I’ve cried wolf so many times, they may not want to listen,” Whitworth said per past retirement conservations. “At some point, it will actually happen.”
–The Rams placed tight end Tyler Higbee (knee) and offensive tackle Joe Noteboom (chest) on injured reserve Friday, ending their seasons.
Higbee was injured against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, and his chances of playing didn’t sound good after McVay said Monday that he wouldn’t practice all week. Noteboom was injured one week earlier in the divisional round against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Los Angeles activated running back Darrell Henderson Jr. (knee) and defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day (pectoral) from IR.
–With Henderson set to play Sunday for the first time since being injured in Week 16, the Rams suddenly have what McVay termed the “full arsenal” in backfield options.
Cam Akers returned from a July Achilles injury during the final week of the regular season and has carried the ball 54 times for 151 yards in the playoffs. Sony Michel led the Rams in the regular season with 845 rushing yards and Henderson had 688.
McVay believes it is a good dilemma and said the Rams would go with the “hot hand.”
McVay has seen Michel stand out on the Super Bowl stage but from the opposite side. As a rookie, Michel carried 18 times for 94 yards and one score when the New England Patriots notched a 13-3 victory over Rams in the Super Bowl after the 2018 season.
Akers is just happy to be a part of this game after a surprisingly fast rehab period.
“I knew the chance was real of going to the Super Bowl,” Akers said of his commitment to return this season. “I knew we had a good chance of going. I knew we had a good chance of making that run, and I wanted to be a part of it. I’m blessed to be able to.”
–Rams safety Eric Weddle is playing in his final NFL game after a return to the club following two seasons of retirement.
Earlier this week, Weddle detailed how he was doing nothing but sitting on the couch last month prior to getting the call from Los Angeles to see if he was fit enough to play.
However, people familiar with Weddle knew his lap wasn’t empty when he was sitting on the couch. After all, this is the same NFL star who has fessed up to eating a gallon of ice cream after victories.
Thus, it’s no surprise what Weddle’s post-Super Bowl routine will be like.
“I’m going to do nothing but ice cream celebrations for a week to make up for these last five weeks,” Weddle said Friday in reference to his time with the Rams. “I will make up for it when it is all said and done. The celebrations will happen.”
–Field Level Media