Few players had a better second half of their NFL career than Andrew Whitworth.

Whitworth began his pro career in 2006 with the Bengals, but he didn't earn his first Pro Bowl until 2012, when he was already past 30. After two more Pro Bowls with Cincinnati (2015 and 2016), he signed with the Rams in 2017 and added his fourth.

In March 2017, the Rams signed the 35-year-old left tackle to a three-year, $36 million deal shortly after hiring Sean McVay. Whitworth immediately became the cornerstone of a rebuilt offensive line and the veteran voice in a young locker room. In his first season, he earned first-team All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl selection while helping protect Jared Goff and open lanes for Todd Gurley. The next year the Rams reached Super Bowl LIII; they lost to the Patriots, but Whitworth’s leadership remained a constant. He re-signed and kept starting into his late 30s, remaining one of the league’s better tackles. In 2020, he suffered a season-ending knee injury but returned for the playoffs. At 40, he came back for one more year, started at left tackle in the modern era longer than anyone else, and protected Matthew Stafford’s blind side through the postseason.

On the night before Super Bowl LVI, he was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year. The next day he helped the Rams beat his former team, the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20 for the championship. A month later, on March 15, 2022, he announced his retirement. The Rams got the late-career peak, the leadership that helped establish a culture, two Super Bowl appearances, and a championship. What a way to call it a career!