Cincinnati Bengals: 30 greatest players in franchise history
By John Buhler
. OT. (2006-16). Andrew Whitworth. 14. player. 56
- 3x Pro Bowl w/Bengals (2012, 2015-16)
- 1x First-Team All-Pro w/Bengals (2015)
- 1x Second-Team All-Pro w/Bengals (2014)
- 168 career games, 164 career starts with Bengals
While he may now be the star left tackle for the Los Angeles Rams, let’s not forget the great 11 years Andrew Whitworth gave the Bengals to start his NFL career. Whitworth came to the Queen City in 2006 as a second-round pick out of LSU.
During his first three years in the league, Whitworth played all over the place on the Bengals offensive line. It was done to get him some playing time, spending a good bit of it at guard. However in 2009, Whitworth would kick out to left tackle for good. This would prove to be very beneficial as his career developed.
Whitworth would go on to start all but two games for the Bengals at that position during the next seven years. Eventually, he broke through and finally earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2012 at the age of 32 in year seven out of LSU. From there, Whitworth’s career really went to new heights.
He would be named to the All-Pro second team in 2014. While he was not a Pro Bowler that season, Whitworth absolutely was in his final two years with the Bengals in 2015 and 2016. He earned his first All-Pro first team nod in 2015 and started all 16 games at left tackle in his final year with the Bengals.
Whitworth did leave Cincinnati in 2017 NFL free agency to sign a three-year deal with the Rams. Protecting Jared Goff’s blind side like he did for Carson Palmer and Andy Dalton for years, Whitworth made his fourth career trip to the Pro Bowl in 2017, earning All-Pro first team nods in the process.
Simply put, Whitworth has aged gracefully at left tackle. Even entering his age-37 season, Whitworth is still seen as one of the best left tackles in all of football. While he may not play past the last two years of his Rams’ contract, he will be remember as one of the best offensive lineman in Bengals history. It’s impressive given the guys who played before him like Willie Anderson and Anthony Muñoz.