Joe Burrow: Andrew Whitworth made my rehab process…

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Before signing with the Rams in the 2017 offseason, left tackle Andrew Whitworth played 11 seasons for the Bengals.

And before Cincinnati selected him in the second round of the 2006 draft, Whitworth won a national championship at LSU.

Given their similar path to the NFL, Whitworth struck up a friendship with Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

As Burrow recalled in his Monday press conference, he and Whitworth bonded in Southern California late last year when both were rehabbing from knee injuries. Burrow had torn his ACL and was out for the season. Whitworth ended up returning from a torn MCL in time for the postseason.

But with Burrow staying in Los Angeles, the two got together several times and became good friends.

“When I got hurt, I lived about 40 minutes from where he was living. And we were both hurt at the same time, so I would go over to his house and watch the games on Sunday,” Burrow said Monday. “We did that — I think I spent my birthday at his house and I also spent his birthday at his house. So that was kind of a cool thing that he did for me, reaching out to me and making the rehab process a little easier — being in California, away from a lot of people who were close to me. He kind of took me in and we had some good times hanging out, watching football, and talking about the Bengals and LSU and all that. So he’s become a good friend.”

Burrow said he’d keep the specifics of what he learned from Whitworth private, but noted Whitworth “had a lot of insight that I think was helpful for me.”

Because they’re both offensive players, Burrow and Whitworth won’t be on the field at the same time. But the two connected on a level that seems deeper than football. And Whitworth’s tutelage may have aided Burrow’s ascent in 2021.