Melissa Whitworth, wife of Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth, relishes twilight of husband's career

Andrew Whitworth and his wife Melissa never envisioned this.

They never dreamed Andrew would play 16 years in the NFL. They never believed two Northeastern Louisiana natives would be living in Southern California, preparing to play in Super Bowl 56 on Sunday.

"To know that at the twilight of my husband's career he is getting to play his former team in the Super Bowl," Melissa said. "I don't know how you dream it up any better than that."

Andrew was a second-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft to the Cincinnati Bengals. Sixteen years later into his career, Andrew is 40 and now starting at offensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams. He became the oldest active player in the NFL with Tom Brady's retirement announcement and will be the oldest starting offensive lineman to play in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

And Andrew was named the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year on Thursday.

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The award that recognizes a player's volunteer or charity work as well as his play on the field. He received the award during the NFL Honors ceremony on Thursday.

Andrew and Melissa met after Andrew's second year in the NFL after he came home to Monroe during the offseason.

"Neither one of us had any preconceived idea of who the other one was," Melissa said. "... We knew within two weeks that we would get married."

Melissa said that after two weeks they knew they would spend the rest of their lives together.

She grew up in Ruston. Her husband was 30 minutes east in West Monroe. While at West Monroe High School he helped lead the Rebels to a LHSAA Class 5A state championship in 1998 and 2000. He graduated and went on to play in college at LSU. Meanwhile, she was at Louisiana Tech pursuing her masters degree in sociology.

"I can't tell you anything bad about the state of Louisiana," Melissa said. "We're really proud of where we grew up and that area."

Andrew spent 10 years with the Bengals. In 2017 the Whitworths packed up and made the move from Cincinnati to Los Angeles when he signed with the Rams.

He had made an appearance in one other Super Bowl, a 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots in the 2018 season. When Andrew was injured in 2020 with a torn MCL, his wife thought he would announce his retirement.

"We talk about it," Melissa said. "Listen, I've been trying to get him to retire for like seven years."

The veteran has hinted at the idea of retiring after the season. She said that a Super Bowl ring and winning the Walter Payton Man of the Year award would be a great way to tie up his career.

As he recovered from his injury, Cincinnati quarterback and former LSU Tiger Joe Burrow suffered a season ending hit to the knee. His surgeon, a Whitworth family friend, asked them to take the rookie under their wing as he began to navigate the recovery process.

They spent Sundays together watching football and were fans of each other before they met and instantly became good friends, Melissa said. The couple served as mentors to Burrow and his girlfriend as they juggled the pressure of his rookie season and recovery.

Now as the Rams and Bengals play Sunday, Melissa said that she wont be able to relax until they are partying with the Lombardi as Super Bowl champions. Over the course of his career, Melissa knows not to meddle in football affairs but she and their four children have found one way to help refocus the Veteran.

"Our message to him is just try to remember, I know you're locked in, I know you're focused but also try to enjoy it," she said. "Try to remember why you started playing this game when you were in the seventh grade and bring that energy to your preparation."

Emely Hernandez covers University of Louisiana-Monroe athletics and high school sports. Email her at ehernandez@thenewsstar.com and follow her on Twitter @emhernandeznews.

This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Andrew Whitworth, wife Melissa look forward to Super Bowl 56