Rams To Re-Sign Andrew Whitworth

The Rams are set to re-sign Andrew Whitworth on a three-year deal, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. At the age of 38, the new contract should allow him to play out the rest of his career in L.A.

In the buildup to free agency, the Rams have been consistently confident about their odds of keeping the veteran.

I think we’re pretty confident. I think you feel pretty good about it,” head coach Sean McVay said recently. “He still played a really high level last year. His impact isn’t exclusive to just playing the left tackle position. He does a lot of really good things in terms of the mentorship that he provides. … He’s a part of the plan and definitely want to try to get him back.”

Whitworth’s deal is believed to be for more than $10MM per year, Pelissero reports (on Twitter). In fact, it’s the most lucrative deal for a non-quarterback over 35 in NFL history, with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeting Whitworth agreed to a three-year, $30MM pact. This accord comes with $12.5MM fully guaranteed. This comes in slightly off his 2017 Rams contract — three years, $36MM — but it’s nonetheless impressive for a 38-year-old non-QB.

Whitworth played for the first eleven seasons of his career with the Bengals. Over his time in Cincinnati, Whitworth earned a reputation as one of the best-left tackles in football. Furthermore, he rarely missed a game. From 2009-2016, Whitworth started all but 2 games for the Bengals.

After joining Los Angeles three seasons ago, Whitworth has maintained his good health (missing just 1 game), but his play has begun to tail off. While he still graded out as an above-average tackle, per Pro Football Focus, and received the 28th highest grade of 81 qualified players, Whitworth received the lowest grade since his rookie season.

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