Andrew Whitworth opens the door for a sensational comeback from retirement at 41 as the 330lb former Super Bowl winner admits he will ‘never say never’ – and old team Bengals need after La’el’s injury Collins help on the offensive
- Andrew Whitworth retired earlier this year after winning the Super Bowl with the Rams
- But he has hinted he could now be in line for a stunning return to the field
- Bengals’ right tackle La’el Collins is down for the 2022 season with a cruciate ligament tear
- Whitworth has played there for 11 seasons, so he is very familiar with the organization
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Former Bengals and Rams offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth has opened the door for a surprise return from retirement following La’el Collins’ cruciate ligament rupture at the end of the season.
Collins, the team’s right starter, suffered the injury last weekend against the Patriots with the playoffs on the horizon for the 11-4 roster.
And while Whitworth rode into the sunset after his Rams won the Super Bowl against the Bengals last season, there seems to be a slim chance he could bounce back.
Andrew Whitworth won his only Super Bowl (so far) with the Rams against the Bengals last year
La’el Collins was sent off against the Patriots last weekend after tearing his cruciate ligament in Foxborough
“I’ve said this since the day I retired, I’ll never say never,” Whitworth said on the podcast The Season with Peter Schrager.
“There’s always a chance.”
“I love adventure. I love taking risks,” he continued.
“Well, for me there’s always one. Obviously there are a lot of things that would go in. I mean, I’m technically still signed to the Rams, and I’d have to, I’d have to shake off the old, uh, dust a little and see if I could move a little more.
“But you know what, I would, I would never say no to that option, but, you know, I don’t know. It would have to be a sit-down conversation with, with [my wife] Melissa and the kids and say, “Hey, can we do this again or not?”
Whitworth spent 11 seasons with the Bengals but never won a playoff game there
While Whitworth may lack form (and right tackle experience — he’s played mostly left tackle in his career), he would certainly bring experience to Cincinnati in place of Collins.
He played for the franchise from 2006 to 2016, winning three Pro Bowl honors while making six postseason appearances.
While he never won a playoff game in Cincy, he was able to break the hump in Los Angeles by losing to the Patriots for the first time in Super Bowl LIII in 2019 before winning a ring earlier this year.
Still, a Whitworth-Bengals reunion doesn’t seem likely, judging by coach Zac Taylor’s comments on Tuesday.
“We have good people in the building that we trust,” Taylor told reporters.
“We have people here developing and working within our system that we have a high level of trust in who can help us do the things that we need to do this year.”