Life might not start at 40, but Rams’ Andrew Whitworth will

If the NFL schedule-makers had a amended consciousness of occasion, Andrew Whitworth would beryllium playing shot connected his 40th day Sunday.

Instead, the Rams don’t play the Arizona Cardinals until Monday night, truthful Whitworth volition people the large four-oh connected Sunday by flying to Phoenix with teammates, lone a fistful of whom person adjacent reached three-oh.

No enactment is planned connected the nighttime earlier the Rams (8-4) combat for their NFC West lives against the Cardinals (10-2).

“Not that I cognize of,” Whitworth said Monday. “At slightest I’ve instructed that determination beryllium none. I don’t similar to marque a large to-do astir it.”

But Whitworth, the four-time All-Pro near tackle who entered the NFL during the George W. Bush administration, is hardly shrugging disconnected the birthday. You play the biggest crippled of your play each year. You play your archetypal arsenic a 40-year-old lone erstwhile – and past lone if you’re a uncommon breed.

Whitworth is older than immoderate progressive NFL subordinate but Tom Brady (44). His 231 regular-season starts, 164 for the Cincinnati Bengals and 67 for the Rams, are the 3rd astir among progressive players down Brady and Ben Roethlisberger and tied with John Elway for 29th all-time.

In a airy temper the greeting aft the Rams ended a losing streak astatine 3 games by beating the Jacksonville Jaguars, 37-7, connected Sunday, Whitworth talked astir young players’ reactions to seeing a literal gray-beard execute arsenic helium does.

Jaguars linebacker Damien Wilson, 28, approached Whitworth during a TV timeout Sunday astatine SoFi Stadium.

“He came up to maine and gave maine a hug and said, ‘Be honorable with me. How aged are you?’” Whitworth said. “I was like, ‘Uh, I’m 39 years old.’ He was like, ‘You’ve got to beryllium kidding. You’re not!’ I was like, ‘I am. I’m 39.’ He was like, ‘That’s unbelievable. Can you springiness maine immoderate secrets?’”

Whitworth’s proposal to young players: Take attraction of your body, and larn to relax.

Last season, helium caught Washington antiaircraft linemen Montez Sweat, past 24, and Chase Young, past 21, talking and pointing astatine him during a timeout.

“‘Hey, however aged are you?’” 1 of them yelled. “‘I’m (38).’ ‘No way!’ It blew them distant to deliberation I’m that old. Some guys are blown distant to perceive I played with Chad Johnson (in Cincinnati).”

In his ain way, Whitworth is blown distant too. The 55th wide prime retired of LSU, helium made his archetypal pro commencement astatine property 25 for the Bengals blocking for Carson Palmer connected Sept. 10, 2006, a 23-10 triumph implicit the Chiefs and Trent Green.

“First mates of times you get successful there, you’re conscionable hoping you get a accidental to past successful the NFL, overmuch little play 16 years aboriginal and besides play arsenic overmuch arsenic I have,” Whitworth said. “It’s decidedly amazing.

“Probably for me, successful my career, this is 1 of the fewer weeks wherever there’s a batch of reflecting due to the fact that it is simply a beauteous immense woody and thing that I enactment arsenic a idiosyncratic extremity astir seven, 8 years ago.”

Whitworth says helium acceptable a extremity of playing until he’s 40 aft helium completed a hard rehabilitation from patella country successful 2013, and helium began to spot it arsenic realistic aft helium signed with the Rams arsenic a escaped cause successful 2017.

Whitworth is nether declaration done 2022. After missing 7 games successful 2020 and 1 this October with abstracted genu injuries, helium can’t beryllium definitive astir his future.

He said Monday: “For now, I consciousness large body-wise, and I don’t spot immoderate crushed to halt unless it doesn’t enactment retired for some sides.”

The youngest Rams starter, linebacker Ernest Jones, turned 22 successful November.

“He’s amazing,” Jones said of Whitworth, ”just for him to beryllium doing this for this long, with the magnitude of respect that helium (receives), and helium inactive does it with class.”

Whitworth does person immoderate elders to get proposal from. He remembered thing Wayne Gretzky said implicit a circular of golf.

“(Gretzky said), ‘Just marque definite you marque radical teardrop that jersey disconnected of you and you don’t locomotion distant until you’re ready, due to the fact that you’ll miss those moments and there’s thing similar (the) locker country you’re surviving successful close now,’” Whitworth said.

Whitworth absorbs property jokes successful that locker room.

And immoderate travel from Rams manager Sean McVay, who’s 35.

“I’m ever ragging him successful immoderate benignant of way,” McVay said Monday. “But I’m astir apt conscionable jealous due to the fact that I couldn’t bash what helium did.”

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

The Rams were relieved to larn halfway Brian Allen has lone an MCL sprain successful his close genu aft being injured connected the archetypal play of Sunday’s game.

“That’s bully quality wherever it’s not thing wherever you’re instantly ruling him retired for Arizona,” McVay said, indicating Allen volition spell time to time connected returning to practice.

This is the other genu for Allen, who missed the full 2020 play aft hurting his near genu successful 2019.

McVay said cornerback Robert Rochell came retired of Sunday’s crippled with sore ribs and astir apt volition miss signifier time.

NOTES

The Cardinals were favored implicit the Rams by 3 points arsenic the week began. This would beryllium the archetypal clip the Rams are underdogs since the playoffs past January. Their crippled against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers successful September was a pick-’em (the Rams won), and they were flimsy underdogs a fewer days earlier the Nov. 28 crippled against the Green Bay Packers but favored by kickoff (the Rams lost). … After going done 7 kickoff returners successful the archetypal 11 games, McVay indicated Brandon Powell won the occupation with his 65-yard instrumentality of the opening footwear Sunday. McVay praised Terrell Burgess’ blocking connected the play. Powell, a erstwhile Detroit Lion and Atlanta Falcon whom the Rams signed successful November, would person to beryllium moved permanently from the signifier squad to the progressive roster. … Whitworth said helium got successful interaction with aged person Jared Goff aft the erstwhile Rams backmost threw the winning touchdown walk successful the Lions’ archetypal triumph of 2021 connected Sunday. Fans astatine SoFi Stadium cheered erstwhile the play was shown connected the video committee during the Rams’ game. “I thought it was beauteous cool, successful our stadium, the absorption the assemblage had,” Whitworth said. “I reached retired to him to archer him congrats and archer him however overmuch he’s inactive endeared here. Happy for him.”