Andrew Whitworth is still weighing retirement, but he’s staying in shape by working out with Joe Noteboom and David Edwards
Andrew Whitworth is weighing retirement after finishing his 16th season in the NFL, which was capped off by a Super Bowl win. He’s taking some time to decide whether to keep playing, but all signs point toward him hanging up his cleats and retiring on top.
He still seems to be maintaining his workout routine, however, just in case. On Monday, Whitworth shared a video of himself in his home gym working out with Rams offensive linemen Joseph Noteboom and David Edwards.
The Rams’ O-line is a close-knit group, so it’s hardly a surprise to see them training together even after the season ended.
Andrew Whitworth is still staying in shape and working out with Joseph Noteboom and David Edwards in his garage gym pic.twitter.com/Y0xrwyqPvf
It shouldn’t be long before we hear Whitworth’s decision, which will have a ripple effect on Noteboom’s future. With Noteboom being a free agent, the Rams would like to re-sign him if Whitworth retires, keeping him as their starting left tackle.
But if Whitworth returns, the Rams might have to let Noteboom go – assuming he has plenty of suitors elsewhere.
Taking a look at seven free agent OTs the Colts should consider in 2022.
The Indianapolis Colts will be heading into free agency with plenty of salary-cap space and a massive need at upgrading their left tackle position.
The new league doesn’t begin until the middle of March, and the Colts still have to settle their Carson Wentz situation before making any moves in free agency. But finding a left tackle is high on the list of priorities.
As it currently stands, veteran Eric Fisher is set to be a free agent. He could be re-signed before the new league year arrives or the Colts can wait to test the market.
The list of available free agent offensive tackles isn’t very long. It gets even shorter when realizing the two top options on the market (Terron Armstead and Orlando Brown) won’t be realistic targets for the Colts. They simply can’t invest that much money into the offensive line without it coming at a detriment elsewhere.
As always, we’ll take a look at the available free agents with the mindset of Chris Ballard’s preference for mid-tier options. Here are seven free agents the Colts should consider in 2022:
The Rams have plenty of notable free agents this offseason and they won’t be able to re-sign all of them. Who stays and who walks?
The Los Angeles Rams are less than two weeks removed from being crowned champions in Super Bowl LVI. The Rams were able to overcome a four-point deficit in the fourth quarter thanks to a time-consuming, game-winning drive from Matthew Stafford that was capped off by Cooper Kupp’s second touchdown of the night.
After partying for a week, there isn’t much time for the Rams to remain in celebration mode with free agency and the draft right around the corner.
Entering the offseason, Los Angeles has a handful of notable free agents that it’ll need to make decisions on. With restructures and extensions, the Rams can free up cap space to give them more wiggle room to retain some of their pending free agents.
While the Rams take some time to determine their free agency plans, I’ll be doing my best to predict what players could return and which ones could be on their way out this offseason.
From Robert Woods to Jordan Fuller, see which stars shined brightest for the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football.
The Los Angeles Rams notched a massive — albeit bizarre — victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in prime time Monday night. Their 27-24 victory was their first win over Tom Brady since 2001 and launched the Rams into first place in the NFC West.
It took a team effort to pull off a win against Tampa Bay this week. Here are a few of the studs that helped drag the Rams past the finish line — and one dud who set them back.
Les Snead believes Joseph Noteboom and Bobby Evans could be future replacements at left tackle.
Before Andrew Whitworth decided to return for another season in 2020, left tackle was viewed as one of the Rams’ biggest positional needs in free agency and the draft. But the team was able to re-sign Whitworth to a three-year deal, keeping him around for at least one more season.
That’s good news for the Rams, who didn’t have a clear plan to replace Whitworth had he retired this offseason. Joseph Noteboom was supposed to be the heir to the throne at left tackle, but he looked overmatched as a starter at left guard in 2019 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
The Rams have been afforded the benefit of time when it comes to finding Whitworth’s replacement, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy. This week, general manager Les Snead discussed the team’s plan for life after Whitworth retires, which could involve Noteboom, Bobby Evans or a draft pick taking over eventually.
“I think the process started with the drafting of Joe Noteboom. It did get disrupted with the ACL, so I do think that probably disrupted (the plan), which happens in football. Not every well-designed plan is not going to go your way,” Snead said. “But also, for some reason, Whit continues to not want to retire, so that’s definitely a bonus. But I think what you then begin doing is OK, internally, who are the prospects? Is it Joe Noteboom? Is it Bobby Evans, who played left and right at Oklahoma? Is it someone in this draft? And if it’s someone in this draft, and we onboarded him during the draft, what are they doing in the ‘20 season? Are they competing at one of the spots? Are they training at left tackle only to be the swing tackle?”
The Rams covet versatile offensive linemen who can play multiple positions, which Snead says is an ideal scenario when it comes to replacing Whitworth. Of course, that doesn’t always work out, which will lead the Rams to continue scouring the draft to find a potential replacement at left tackle in 2021 or beyond.
“All of those questions are yet to be determined, but the plan was set when we did draft Joe,” Snead continued. “I think big picture, we would always ideally like to take a tackle and train that player at guard to not only give him versatility, but also an element of slightly more athleticism inside. But that doesn’t always necessarily work, so that’s what we’ve been trying to do and we’ll continue to do that.”
The top offensive tackles will obviously be out of reach for the Rams in this year’s draft, considering they don’t have a pick until No. 52 overall. However, there are options to be had in the second and third rounds, primarily developmental prospects who will need a year or two to develop.
That’s fine for Los Angeles because Whitworth will maintain his post at left tackle for at least one more year, giving whichever rookie – if the Rams draft one – ample time to sit back and learn from the two-time All-Pro.
All three are on track to be ready for the 2020 season.
The injury bug bit the Los Angeles Rams hard last season, unlike Sean McVay’s first two seasons at the helm. They lost three starters on the offensive line to injury, their starting safety and cornerback and even Brandin Cooks missed two games with concussions.
The most notable injuries lingering into the offseason were the ones to John Johnson, Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen. Johnson suffered a shoulder injury, while Allen injured his MCL and tore his ACL and MCL. At the combine on Tuesday, Sean McVay provided an encouraging update on how they’re recovering.
“They’re feeling good,” McVay said, via the team’s site. “They’re making good progress.”
The 2020 season is still more than six months away and their injuries didn’t occur toward the end of the season. Allen’s happened in Week 10 (November 10), while the other two went down before that.
However, their availability for the offseason workout program is up in the air.
“Each of those injuries is a little bit different, but they’re on track to being ready to go for the season,” McVay said. “What it does look like, for how we utilize them in the offseason program, I think, is to be determined.”
All three could play key roles next season, depending on how the offensive line competition shakes out. Johnson is expected to start next to Taylor Rapp at safety, giving the Rams a great young tandem in the secondary.
Joseph Noteboom shared an update on how his knee is feeling after tearing it last season.
Joseph Noteboom was drafted two years ago to potentially be the heir to Andrew Whitworth’s throne at left tackle. That changing of the guard was delayed a year when Whitworth returned for another season in 2019, opening the door for Noteboom to take over at left guard.
His first season as a starter was cut short due to injury, though, as Noteboom was lost for the year after just six games. He tore his ACL in Week 6 and was placed on IR, the first of many blows to the Rams’ offensive line.
Noteboom is expected to be ready for the 2020 season, and this week, he provided an update in an interview with Sarina Morales of the Rams’ site.
“I think we’re about eight weeks from surgery. Haven’t started running yet or anything like that, just trying to get the quad strength up and figure out walking. I think in about four weeks we start jogging and stuff like that on the field,” Noteboom said when asked about his knee.
As a result of his knee injury, Noteboom isn’t taking his health or availability for granted. He always knew the importance of eating right and working out, but now he realizes it even more.
“I’ve never really taken walking for granted, but now I do,” he said. “Health and eating well and getting your body right. I’ve always thought it was important, but now [even more]. I never want to get hurt again, because this sucks.”
Noteboom’s immediate role with the Rams is still to be determined. He could remain at left guard, but if Whitworth retires or leaves in free agency, he could slide back over to left tackle, which is where he played in college.
Whitworth’s decision will play a big role in Noteboom’s future, because if he comes back, the young O-lineman will remain inside at guard for at least one more year.
The Los Angeles Rams’ offensive line has been criticized all season long. Despite that, they gave up the fewest sacks in the NFL.
The Los Angeles Rams’ offensive line has received plenty of criticism over the course of the 2019 season. Many have pointed the finger at the line being a major reason why both Jared Goff and Todd Gurley regressed this year.
Much of the criticism was warranted. But here’s a truly surprising stat about the 2019 Rams: They finished the season giving up the fewest number of sacks in the NFL. The Rams gave up just 22 sacks on the season, narrowly beating out the Dallas Cowboys, who gave up 23.
This was the second-lowest total for the Rams in a full 16-game season, only trailing the 2015 unit that gave up just 18 sacks on the year. Goff was sacked only 10 times over the team’s final 10 games, and four of those sacks came against Pittsburgh.
Veteran tackle Andrew Whitworth was asked how it was possible that the Rams gave up the fewest sacks in the NFL. “I don’t know,” Whitworth joked. “Sure doesn’t fit the narrative though.”
The aforementioned Pittsburgh game was a disastrous performance for the Rams’ offensive line, and the team lost starters Brian Allen and Rob Havenstein in the process. They rolled out a new-look offensive line the following week, with Austin Blythe sliding from guard to center, David Edwards sliding from left guard to right guard, rookie Bobby Evans stepping in at right tackle, and mid-season acquisition Austin Corbett stepped in at left guard. Whitworth was the only constant on the offensive line this season.
The new-look group deserves plenty of praise for this number, as they gave up just six sacks in the seven games they started together. Goff was much more comfortable behind this group, completing 6% more of his passes in the final seven games than he did in the previous nine. Most importantly, Goff fumbled just one time and the Rams were able to recover it. He fumbled nine times in the previous nine games, and the Rams lost five of them.
Leading the league in fewest sacks allowed should give Rams fans a sense of optimism about the offensive line moving forward. They were far from perfect, particularly in the running game. But this unit was able to bounce back after a disastrous start to the season, and both Goff and Gurley played better in the second half of the year. The rookie duo on the right side of the line played far better than the veteran combination of Rob Havenstein and Austin Blythe, and Blythe played far better at center than he did at guard.
The Rams will have some decisions to make on the line heading into 2019. Blythe and Whitworth are free agents, with the latter mulling over retirement. Rob Havenstein, Joseph Noteboom, and Brian Allen will be returning from injury. All three of them were outplayed by their replacements, and all three are under contract in 2020.
Regardless, both Rams fans and the Rams staff have to feel better about this unit heading into the offseason than they did after the Pittsburgh game. Things are looking up in Los Angeles, at least when it comes to the front five.
The Rams have had the worst offensive line in football this year. You can blame the players, but blame falls on the guys that trusted them.
Things continue to get worse for the Rams’ struggling offensive line. After another horrifying performance against Pittsburgh on Sunday, the team has announced it’ll be without two starters up front for Week 11. Rob Havenstein has been ruled out for Sunday and could be out for a few weeks, while, starting center Brian Allen has is out for the remainder of the season.
For the first two years of Sean McVay’s tenure as head coach, the Rams rolled out a healthy and reliable offensive line. Not a single starter missed significant time as the offense rolled to back-to-back NFC West titles. The offensive line was the engine that kept the offense rolling.
In Year 3, the Rams have fielded the NFL’s worst offensive line, and the offense has struggled mightily as a result. They’ve gone from one of the most feared offensive units in the NFL to one of the league’s most exploitable and turnover-prone. The difference between McVay’s 2018 and 2019 offenses is night and day.
Injuries have devastated this offensive line. Still, they were bad before the injuries, and they’ll likely continue to be bad in the weeks ahead. The players deserve blame for their poor play. But the front office and the coaching staff deserve more of the blame for actually thinking this would work.
Stability and consistency were staples of the Rams offensive line in 2017 and 2018. Six players started meaningful games for the Rams in that stretch: Andrew Whitworth, Roger Saffold, John Sullivan, Rob Havenstein, and Jamon Brown, who was replaced by Austin Blythe in 2018. They weren’t a perfect unit, but it was rare that they’d be the reason the Rams lost a game, even with Sullivan’s slump in 2018. Jared Goff and Todd Gurley were comfortable playing behind that unit, which allowed Mcvay to unleash the offense he wanted to run.
The Rams chose to break up this unit. It wasn’t forced upon them, it was a choice. The decisions to move on from Sullivan and Saffold were financial ones. Sullivan wasn’t worth the money he was owed, but as far as we’re aware, the Rams made no attempt to bring him back on a cheaper deal. They simply declined his option for this season.
As for Saffold, it’s obvious that the Rams didn’t want to pay him the money he had coming to him. Saffold signed a four-year, $44 million deal with the Titans after eight seasons with the Rams. But Saffold’s contract has a cap number of just $6.375 million with an out after the 2020 season that wouldn’t result in a devastating cap hit. The Rams could have made this contract work if they thought he was worth it. They’re paying Clay Matthews similar money this season and had the cap space to give Tyler Higbee a four-year, $29 million contract extension. The Rams could have afforded to pay Roger Saffold, they just didn’t want to.
(Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Still, walking away from Saffold wasn’t the worst decision. The bigger problem was how the team chose to replace Saffold and Sullivan. When the Rams didn’t add a single offensive lineman in free agency, many figured they’d choose to address the need with their first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
They didn’t. The Rams chose to trade out of the first round and move back 14 picks. Six of those 14 picks ended up being offensive lineman. The Rams still had a chance to take center Eric McCoy at 45. They decided to move back again and chose safety Taylor Rapp at 61. While Rapp has turned out to be a solid pick, McCoy is currently the starting center in New Orleans and has the second-highest PFF grade in the league at the position. The Rams did select two offensive linemen during the draft: Bobby Evans in the late-third round, and David Edwards in the late-fifth round.
The decision to move on from Saffold and Sullivan and not replace them in the offseason was due to the team’s trust in 2018 mid-round picks Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen. Both the front office and the coaching staff must have agreed that Allen and Noteboom were good enough to replace Saffold and Sullivan despite no in-game evidence proving as much. Neither guy played any real meaningful snaps in 2018. Still, it sounded like McVay trusted them. That was enough to keep most fans optimistic about the pairing heading into 2019. Clearly, it wasn’t the right decision.
The team’s decision to add essentially no depth behind their new offensive line may have been an even worse decision. Drafting Evans and Edwards was the extent of the Rams adding offensive linemen this offseason. Since McVay doesn’t play his starters in the preseason, which included Allen and Noteboom this year, the backups got a chance to shine on the offensive line. They shined about as bright as a dull rock that had been buried under thousands of pounds of dirt for centuries. Jamil Demby, the team’s first lineman off the bench at every position, looked like he didn’t even belong in the NFL. It became clear quickly that the Rams would be in big trouble should a starter get injured.
It became just as clear that the Rams were already in big trouble early on in the season. Not only were Allen and Noteboom completely in over their heads, the right side of the line seemingly forgot how to play football, and father time continued to catch up with Whitworth. The Rams couldn’t have predicted that their three vets would regress like they did, but they should have known that their new additions would have failed to pick up the slack. They put all their eggs in the Allen and Noteboom basket. That basket was filled with holes, and now all we have to show for it is broken eggs.
In addition to Noteboom and Allen being exposed this year, the team’s lack of line depth came back to haunt them. Demby graded out as one of the worst offensive linemen in the NFL while filling in for Noteboom and went from starting to being a healthy scratch. Edwards has looked better than expected filling in at guard, but he’s not exactly setting the world on fire. With both Allen and Havenstein set to miss next week’s game against Chicago, the team will turn to Blythe at center and likely in-season acquisition Austin Corbett at left guard. Bobby Evans could take over at right tackle with Edwards remaining at right guard.
Goff and Gurley have been noticeably worse in 2019. McVay’s play-calling has been questionable at times. But the source of the offense’s regression starts and ends with the offensive line. They replaced veterans with un-proven youth, and the youth failed to prove anything. They’ve been bad, but maybe they weren’t that good to begin with? You can’t blame bad players for being bad. You have to blame the people who trusted them to be good.
The Rams dug themselves into this hole in the offseason. They’re going to need a pretty big shovel to dig themselves out of it. They’re not getting that shovel this season, and it might be tough to find a shovel big enough to dig themselves out of the hole this offseason. Snead and McVay have quite the task ahead of them when it comes to salvaging this offensive line.
