Andrew Whitworth wanted to stay with the Cincinnati Bengals.
That much fans knew when the team decided to let him walk in free agency a few years back. Whitworth later went on to confirm the Bengals lowballed him.
Yet, the details of the matter still sting. Writing for Lola Magazine, Melissa Whitworth revealed Andrew did everything he could to stay with the Bengals:
The next morning, less than 24 hours into the free agency process, it did ramp up. Offers came in from Denver, Minnesota, the New York Jets, and another one from the Rams (an even better one). Each time, Dad would put pen to paper and make his calculations. We would all talk and weigh our options. Andrew called Pat back at dinner that night and said, “I really don’t want to go anywhere else. I want to finish my career in Cincinnati, but their offer isn’t even competitive with the others. Can you reach out to them and see if they will increase their offer?” The answer hit us like a ton of bricks… “Andrew, here’s the text I just received from Troy Blackburn (one of the Bengals’ owners),” Pat’s text read. “I wanted you to read it for yourself. I’m sorry.” “We don’t have Andrew valued at that price,” Blackburn said. “He is an aging left tackle. Our offer stands. It will not increase. If he chooses to leave Cincinnati, all good things must come to an end, I guess.”
Even after all this, Melissa writes that Andrew still didn’t think the offers were competitive enough until his agent got on the phone with the Los Angles Rams and made them up their offer.
More from Melissa: “They called him a sell-out, another money-hungry NFL player who strictly thought of himself. Not his teammates in Cincinnati, not the fan base, just himself. Oh, if they only knew. Had anyone ever told them in their job, after more than a decade of blind loyalty, leadership, and sacrifice they weren’t ‘valuable enough to keep?'”
While the general theme within the heartfelt column isn’t new (and it’s overall a great read), it’s still unfortunate for all parties given the greater details that weren’t known until now.
At the time, the Bengals were content to go all-in on draft investments Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher. This of course backfired and the team ended up admitting the mistake by making a desperation trade for Cordy Glenn. Ogbuehi and Fisher aren’t expected to come back this offseason.
As for Andrew, he’s already committed to playing with the Rams next season after the Super Bowl letdown as opposed to retiring.
