Andrew Whitworth opens up about joining Twitter, watching a ton of film and what he misses about playing
Andrew Whitworth retired from the NFL after 16 seasons earlier this year, calling it a career after going out on top as the Walter Payton Man of the Year and a Super Bowl champion. It was the perfect ending to a Hall of Fame-worthy career, but Whitworth hasn’t gone far.
He remains close to the game he loves, taking on a broadcasting job with Amazon on Thursday Night Football. Whitworth has also stuck around in Los Angeles, attending several Rams practices this summer and hanging out in their war room during the draft.
Whitworth is enjoying retirement and staying busy, keeping that competitive fire by finding a new passion in the media world. He’d love to work for an NFL organization one day – ideally, the Rams, he says – whether it’s as a coach or in the front office.
I recently caught up with Whitworth, who opened up about his future career plans, his decision to join Twitter, expectations for Joe Noteboom and much more. Whitworth also discussed his partnership with Pepsi, giving one fan a chance to live in a game-day-ready tiny home for 18 weeks this NFL season.
Rams linemen still work out at your house. Do you see that continuing throughout the season?
Whitworth: “Yeah. Somebody asked me about Joe Noteboom and how he’s gonna do and ‘do you consider him a little brother?’ I consider all those guys my little brothers. I think sometimes you think of it as work, but to me, those guys are family. They’re always welcome here to train. They trained here yesterday morning. I would imagine on Tuesday mornings they’ll still be here training with Ryan Sorensen, our trainer here. During the offseason, they’re here all the time.
“That relationship will always be there. I’m always here to help them or mentor them or even if it’s just to be a friend, being beside them and listening to them talk. One of the coolest things about NFL football, I’ve gotten to mentor a lot of NFL linemen and other positions, not just in the game of football. Sometimes it’s about being a dad or a husband, all kinds of stuff. I’m always here for those guys when they need me and they know that.”
Was there a moment you knew Joe Noteboom would become a good left tackle?
Whitworth: “For Joe, it’s the ability – he has a really special anchor. I look at Joe Thomas, he was a tremendous setter at left tackle. Had a really fluid set. Joseph sets really fluid and has a really special anchor. Joe’s that way, too, and Joe Thomas was a guy that had such a smooth set, but what really made him special was how strong the anchor he had. Not always being the biggest tackle out there, he could set back as far and as fast as he wanted and was actually able to anchor on people in a really special way. That’s one of the things for linemen, especially tackles, as far as you have to move and as athletic as these guys are, you gotta be able to anchor and not get knocked back in a split-second.
“Noteboom has a really special anchor and sit people down. To me, if you can do that, the rest of the stuff is just a matter of experience and so he’s gonna be a great pass protector and play well from the jump, I would imagine. He’s always played well in moments he’s gotten to go in there and I don’t see him in an 18-game season playing any different. I think he’ll be very consistent and play well, so as a young player, it really stuck out to see him be completely out of position a little bit and still be able to anchor guys down, which is a trait that any left tackle would love to have.”
Is there a player you expect to step up as a leader now that you’re retired?
Whitworth: “Rob Havenstein will be that guy. He’s a tremendous human, a great leader. He’s already done that a lot in camp, just the couple practices I’ve been to and talking to those guys throughout camp. He’s been that guy for ‘em and he’ll continue to be that guy. Just one of those people that is a good human and has a great heart. Really, really cares about doing his job at an elite level and I think he’ll be tremendous for Joe and Dave (Edwards) and whoever ends up cementing that right guard spot – more than likely Coleman Shelton. And Brian Allen. I think they’ll have a great leader there in him because he’s gonna do things the right way and he’s tough as can be and I think he’s already cemented himself as that guy up front for them.”
What made you want to join Twitter and how has your experience been so far?
Whitworth: “I’m a student of the game, so I also want to know what the topics are and things people are discussing and what fans want to hear and what they want to talk about. It was about going and studying the people I admire and that I think do a great job and I want to see what people talk about with the commentary they have or conversations they’re having. I want to get on there and I was like, ‘I want to get on there and have some dialogue with people.’ Eventually as time goes on, I’ll probably do more content and things I’ll feature and get my feet wet and figure out what I want to do in the industry. I’ll expand that more, but for now, it’s been fun to get on there, banter a little bit, have conversations.
“I think you forget sometimes that even though there’s a lot of (expletive) on Twitter that people get annoyed with and frustrated by, there’s a lot of good, too. I’ve had a lot of good opportunities and conversations I would’ve never gotten to have without Twitter. It gives a voice sometimes to people who don’t have one or maybe would get overlooked. To be able to respond to things in the moment, I think is a great opportunity.”
How has the broadcasting job gone so far?
Whitworth: “That’s the coolest part. What I was intrigued by was maybe I’m not ready to truly take a role with an organization in the NFL – hopefully the Rams right now – but what can I do in the meantime? This has been really fun, being involved in that space and being part of NFL on Prime with Amazon has been really cool. Great crew, had fun broadcasting the Rams games. I thought that was a lot of fun, I enjoyed that.
“It’s been one of those things where you’re figuring out how it works, what’s important, what do you need to focus on, study about, think about, how to relate. It’s really not that much different in the sense that you’re using different skills, but just being yourself, being who you are, being passionate about what you’re passionate about and letting that show, I think it’s some of the things I’m trying to focus on. So far, it’s been great. I can’t wait to get more involved and it looks like something I could do for a really long time and I really enjoy it.”
What would you want to do with an organization? Coach? Front office?
Whitworth: “It would definitely be something in the front office, but I’ve always had a passion to mentor and lead. It’s not like I’m saying I would never coach, either. It would probably be a blend, some kind of assistant GM or assistant something to where I could also have a little bit of hand in coaching and the football players, as well. I’ve always loved the game that way and figuring out what makes a team, understanding how it goes throughout a season, how teams need to change, how their mentality needs to be, the right kind of players it takes, the right kind of coaches and buildings and culture. Those things fire me up. I’m definitely excited to cover that kind of stuff in the media space and if I ever got back into working for an NFL organization, that’s the area I’d want to be in.”
Do you feel any itch to get back on the field and play when you’re around the Rams at practice?
Whitworth: “I would say probably not. I go out there and it’s fun to think you’d want to do that, but right now if I had to think about stopping a Nick Bosa bull rush, that makes me want to jump out of my desk. I have no interest in doing that, so I would love to talk about how good Nick Bosa plays. I do not want to have to figure out how to stop it right now anymore. I think I’ve gotten out of that mindset a little bit. Still a competitor, I’d still love to think I could, but I don’t think I can right now.”
How great has it been to be home with your kids more often now?
Whitworth: “It’s really cool. Obviously, you’re taking on a job that you’re gonna travel some during the season, but the reality is I’m still really young relative to the working space and being able to do stuff and I want my kids to see me still chasing, still see me working, still see me out there having a passion for something I do. I knew I was gonna work one way or another, but what’s been really special about this industry is I’m able to take them to school, I’m able to pick them up from school. Right now, I’m coaching some of their teams. I’m able to be at the soccer games and some of that stuff. That part’s been a lot of fun. And just to be home to help my wife Melissa. If there’s certain things that she needs during the day.
“I’m still working a lot. I’ve gotten into reading and watching a lot of tape and catching up on things I may not have watched as a player because sometimes you can get really zoned in as a player to what you do, but now watching the totality of the game, so that’s been fun. Got to catch up a little on that and I’m working a lot and they see that and make comments about me being in my office all the time working. But I set up chairs in here and let them hang out and watch ball with me from time to time. It’s been fun, it’s been great to be around them, be a little more involved in what they do on a daily basis, but also have something I’m chasing and I’m passionate about, as well.”
How’s the golf game in retirement?
Whitworth: “I told Sean McVay this: The way I know I’m loving my new gigs and enjoying myself and really passionate about something new is that I’ve probably only been out maybe once or twice in the last month or so. This is probably the least amount of golf I’ve played. I’ve enjoyed it. I almost live at this office. I’m enjoying the opportunity to chase something new. It’s been really fun. This is probably the most film, most studying I’ve done in years. It’s been a really long time since I’ve kind of embraced it this way, so that’s been a lot of fun.”
Is there anything in particular you miss about being in the NFL?
Whitworth: “That adrenaline, that feeling – I’ve always said this and people think it’s crazy, but third-and-8 on the road, it’s so loud, you can’t hear a thing, can’t even hear the play call. In your mind, you’re offensively about to drive all the way down the field, you’re gonna lock down the best rushers and you’re gonna go score and win the game. That feeling will never be replicated. I miss that feeling a lot but more importantly than that feeling is just the relationships. That bond is so strong, when you really think about what football is, it’s a day in and day out grind. Your body hurts, your mind hurts, you’re fatigued, you’re just trying to find a way to get motivated every single day to chase something with your teammates, with people in the organization who you love and care about. That bond is extremely strong.
“To be out of it, I’ve had a lot of talks with Larry Fitzgerald or other former players – Carson Palmer, you name it – about what it’s like when you step away. It’s tough. You go from being in the hamster wheel and being part of the big machine that’s turning to being no part of it. It’s not anybody’s fault, it’s not anything anybody purposely does, but that’s just the reality of how big the NFL is and what a big machine it is. That part’s been tough. You’re removed from people you talked to every single day for the last five years.
“There’s guys in the building I saw every day for five years. Those relationships, they’re still strong, still an occasional text or phone call, but it’s like being married to 80-something people in a building and all of a sudden, I don’t see these people ever. It’s wild. Sometimes it’s tough, and I could see where some guys struggle if they don’t have a plan for what’s next.”
You’ve got this awesome partnership with Pepsi for the 18-week pack. How excited were you about that deal?
Whitworth: “Had a really cool opportunity, end of your career trying to figure out what you’re gonna do next, wanting to stay involved with the game. I thought it was really neat. They wanted to do something around the game-day experience and created this 18-week pack and to me, just a cool opportunity to do something that’s always on the top of my mind. I thought about when I was playing, we’d always have these discussions – the old guys, right? – like, ‘Hey, what are you gonna do the first year you retire? Game 1 next NFL season, where you gonna be?’ I thought I would proabably go play golf that day, play nine holes, come back and watch the second half of Week 1, just hanging out at the golf course somewhere. But then you think about what your setup would be. Like, what would be the sickest set up to you watch your favorite teams play? When Pepsi came up with this idea and asked if I wanted to be part of it, I was ecstatic. I thought it was a really cool, neat idea.”
