The NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and after several rumors of trading away key pieces, the Los Angeles Rams decided to stay put.
They had gotten off to a bad start with the injuries to Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, and when they returned, the on-field product obviously improved.
However, their loss to the Miami Dolphins on Monday night was a tough punch in the gut.
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Andrew Whitworth looks on from the sideline during an NFL football game between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 19, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
The Rams failed to score a touchdown in their 23-15 loss to the Dolphins in front of their home crowd, and simply put, the team looks far away from the glory days of their Super Bowl nearly three years ago.
However, one member of that Super Bowl champion team says the future is bright in Southern California.
“If you look at it, that was game one for that group,” Andrew Whitworth told Fox News Digital in a recent interview, citing the team’s injuries early on and finally being healthy for the first time this past Monday. “It’s interesting, it really shows you how much being cohesive and being together matters… I look at this young defense and think they’re growing and getting better. Since the bye, they’ve turned things around. There’s still offseason holes where they have to get better, but to see the steps this group has taken up front, you have to feel really good about what the future of this could be.”
Whitworth was tailgating with fans ahead of the game as part of his new partnership with Tide, which came to the rescue when the food and drinks he indulged got a tad messy.
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Matthew Stafford, #9 of the Los Angeles Rams, talks with Andrew Whitworth on the set of the Amazon Prime “Thursday Night Football” postshow after an NFL football game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on Dec. 21, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
“The opportunity to check out the tailgate scene in Los Angeles was incredible,” Whitworth said, adding he would be jealous seeing fans while gearing up for gameday. “When I get to eating food, drinking drinks, tailgating, having a good time, very likely I’m gonna get something on me. So having Tide there to clean that jersey, that shirt, whatever it is you’re wearing, it’s a great partnership for me being from Louisiana – I know when things start flying, clothes get messed up a bit. No one does it like Tide, and it’s a whole lot of fun.”
Andrew Whitworth talks on the set of the Amazon Prime “Thursday Night Football” postgame show after an NFL football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome on Oct. 19, 2023 in New Orleans. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
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Whitworth said the Rams need to have “real conversations” about how to improve over the offseason.
“We’ve gotta assess who we are next year,” Whitworth said – although, he did add he didn’t think moving on from Matthew Stafford or Cooper Kupp is the “answer.”
“But now…let’s see if we can make a playoff run of some kind, sneak into that seventh seed, and see if you can make some magic happen.”
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