WATCH: Andrew Whitworth praises Joe Burrow, recalls first meeting

At 40-years old, Los Angeles Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth ranks among the NFL’s oldest active players, but he still finds time to hang out with the game’s young stars like Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. While the two former LSU players never got a chance to meet in Baton Rouge, they found time while rehabbing from similar injuries last season.

In the lead up to the Super Bowl, Andrew Whitworth, a longtime Bengals star before his Rams move, shared the day he spent with Joe Burrow and the takeaways he had.

“I just kind of admired him from afar,” said Whitworth. “I never really met him when he was at LSU. … I had seen when he got hurt, and then our team doctor is Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who did his surgery. So Dr. ElAttrache and him had been talking, and Doc and I reached out to one another. … I was like, ‘man, I’ve wanted to meet him forever. I’ve never met him, just shake his hand and tell him thank you for the national championship at LSU, and then what a great job he did.’

"Sitting with him for that full day, I realized, 'Wow this guy is going to be a really, really special quarterback for quite some time.'"

Andrew Whitworth reflects on the time he spent rehabbing with @JoeyB.

💻: #SBOpeningNight live on NFL Twitter pic.twitter.com/IODwxswWnv

— NFL (@NFL) February 7, 2022

“So I ended up having him over on a Sunday when both of us are the old man on crutches and the young man on crutches. And Dr, ElAttrache came with us and we sat around and had a good meal and spent the whole day together watching football games, and it was really fun. His girlfriend Olivia came over too and my wife and her got to spend some time together.”

Andrew Whitworth on Joe Burrow

After spending time with Burrow, Whitworth shared his takeaways and gave a glowing review for the young quarterback as he prepares for his first Super Bowl appearance in year two.

“Those relationships have been great to bond and cultivate,” said Whitworth. “And you know what, it gave me a chance to get an inside vision of what that guy’s life is like. I’ll never forget, the next day, Zac Taylor, he talked to me and said, ‘Joe told me he came over’ and he was like, ‘how different is this guy?’ And I said, ‘man, you got a special one.’ We all knew from the talent and the ability you’d seen him play with in college how good he was going to be, but sitting with him for just that full day, I realized this guy’s going to be a really, really special quarterback for quite some time.”