And then when I realized I was open to moving, and moving on to a new challenge, I really wanted to be away from Cincinnati’s situation. I wasn’t as keen on going somewhere where’d I play Cincinnati and be around it. I wanted to go far away and kind of have a fresh start."

Wow, he didn't even want to be in the presence of this team. Do we, as fans, really need to hear anything more?

I posted this in another thread:

(03-14-2017, 11:47 AM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: The Oline franchise tag is $14.4 mil, $12.6 for the transition tag.

The Rams made Whitworth the 10th highest paid LT in the league based upon average salary/year.

Whit's cap hit is $9.17 mil this year.

That contract doesn't seem crazy to me considering the state of the Bengals' oline.

Jesus Christ!  Looking at the contract, if the Rams want to cut Whit next season the dead money is only $3.33 million which they would be able to spread over two years if they designate him a June 1st cut.  

$9.17 + $3.33 = $12.5 million

They basically signed him to a one year deal for less than the transition tag if they want to cut him next year.  Now, I'm ***** pissed!

 
Now that I've looked at the deal, to me it makes the front office look worse than I initially thought.

(03-14-2017, 12:03 PM)Gamma Ray Tan Wrote: And then when I realized I was open to moving, and moving on to a new challenge, I really wanted to be away from Cincinnati’s situation. I wasn’t as keen on going somewhere where’d I play Cincinnati and be around it. I wanted to go far away and kind of have a fresh start."

Wow, he didn't even want to be in the presence of this team. Do we, as fans, really need to hear anything more?

Way to cherry pick his words.

He was saying he has such an attachment to Cincy and the Bengals that it would be hard to play in a place that reminded him of Cincy. That's why he avoided the Vikings because of Zim.

(03-14-2017, 12:03 PM)Gamma Ray Tan Wrote: And then when I realized I was open to moving, and moving on to a new challenge, I really wanted to be away from Cincinnati’s situation. I wasn’t as keen on going somewhere where’d I play Cincinnati and be around it. I wanted to go far away and kind of have a fresh start."

Wow, he didn't even want to be in the presence of this team. Do we, as fans, really need to hear anything more?

I don't think he meant it that way. I took it he was saying it would be tough on him mentally to play them. Like he would rather not oppose them.

Here's everything Whit said when it came to the Bengals.

Quote:Cedric Ogbuehi is still getting advice from Andrew Whitworth.

Andrew Whitworth, whose prodigious orange-and-black legacy as a peerless leader is that he has been to more postseasons than any Bengals offensive player in history, calls his family, “The Circus.”

With Whitworth and the former Miss Louisiana raising four children seven and younger that include the 2011 Lock Out Twins, maybe it’s fitting that Daddy is a Los Angeles Ram because “The Circus,” is now down the street from Disneyland.

“We knew it was going to be tough to leave Cincinnati,” said Whitworth Saturday afternoon as he drove around L.A., having, “No idea where I am.”

“We knew we wanted it to be a new situation. We didn’t want to be somewhere where there was a constant reminder of missing Cincinnati. To me it was like, go all the way out to L.A. and start over or stay in Cincinnati and take whatever you can get.”

He’s gone but he hasn’t left. His first two calls as a Ram on Thursday were to his successor at left tackle, Cedric Ogbuehi, and his bookend on the right, Jake Fisher, the first two picks in the 2015 draft that are now being asked to perform like it.

“Time to play,” Whitworth told them and he plans to help by sitting down in L.A. in a few days with Ogbuehi. He’s also already had a couple of heart-to-hearts with quarterback Andy Dalton and what it means for his expanding leadership and he told wide receiver A.J. Green he’s still there for him and is only a phone call away if he needs anything at all.

“I hope Bengaldom understands,” Whitworth said. “I’ll still be in there pulling for the Bengals … I’m still pushing guys to be the best they can be, to be as successful as they can. I didn’t work that hard and that long not to see them have success. I’m here, man. I’m still that guy. I didn’t do it because they were on my team. I did it because of who I am. I believe in those guys.”

So even though old friend Mike Zimmer’s Vikings and the Rams were the two most aggressive teams of what was a seven-team derby, Minnesota (Bengals North) wasn’t an option. Neither were the Chargers or the Broncos, probably because they were in the AFC.

In his last eight seasons as a Bengal, Whitworth played in six post-season games.

“We were looking for some place where we could make a difference. A team that really wanted me badly,” Whitworth said. “Where I could do something cool like I did in Cincinnati and help turn a locker room around in the right direction … Melissa and I got married out here and we had a great time. Nine years this Tuesday. So there was a good connection. And some place where the family could have some sun and a big time. An adventure.”

And so it was the sad-sack Rams, much worse than the Bengals when Whitworth arrived in the second round 11 years ago. Now after watching their long-time offensive captain depart after helping cultivate the most successful Bengals locker room in history, they are still hearing the up-beat pep talks.

“I will never forget when Carson Palmer left before the 2011 season and I was wondering what the heck was going to happen and we were sitting around looking at each other,” Whitworth said of a season the Bengals went 9-7 to begin a run of five straight postseasons.

“Everybody was picking us to 0-16. Somebody had to step up and get the locker room in the right direction and we came out and proved everyone wrong. I have no doubt of the character of the guys in there that somebody will do it and I’ll be old news. That’s always the case with any football player. I hope guys take control of that team and give Mr. Mike (Brown) what he deserves.”

Whitworth and the Bengals president have a deep regard for each other. They even negotiated his last contract here one-on-one two years ago. He plans to do it the Mike Brown way and write him a letter of thanks.

“I’m grateful and humbled by how much he has done for me, my wife, and our kids,” Whitworth said. “Just because you leave doesn’t mean you stop loving … After my career I’ll always consider myself a Bengal. I hope to come back and retire a Bengals and do it the right way.”

Whitworth doesn’t want to focus on the nuts-and-bolts of the negotiations. He said agent Pat Dye informed the Bengals of each offer he received and he’s not so sure he and Brown could have sat down in a room and got this one done. The Rams weighed in at three years with $13 million guaranteed in the first year of a $36 million deal.

The Bengals are hesitant at giving 35-year-old players multiple years. Even one year would have to be a cautious number. Whitworth’s mentality was it was his first crack ever at free agency and coming off two straight Pro Bowl seasons he doesn’t think he’s at the end.

Andrew Whitworth on Bengaldom: "Best memories of my life."

“We’re not mad, we’re not bitter,” Whitworth said. “It didn’t work out. You know what? For either side to not get the deal done there has to be a little thought in you that it was OK not to get it done. That’s just the nature of life. There had to be a little part of us that was OK to leave and a little part of them that it was OK if it didn’t work out. It doesn’t mean you don’t love each other. I love Mike to death. I think the world of him, I’m not mad at him.”

Whitworth leaves a franchise icon. With 168 games, only Hall-of-Famer Anthony Munoz (185) and four-time Pro Bowler Willie Anderson (181) played more at tackle.

When they went 0-8, Whitworth sparked the first victory of the year when he backed down Jacksonville’s eye-poking John Henderson with a monstrous bear hug as the crowd roared for Whitworth’s ejection. When they went 8-0, Dalton barely got touched in an MVP first half of the season. His three Pro Bowls matched the Bengals’ three division titles.

“Our 11 years here are the best memories of my life,” Whitworth said. “What we accomplished and to be a part of it is special. The locker room and the guys, from top to bottom in the organization were great and I had nothing but great experiences and for that I’m thankful and extremely grateful. I feel I can honestly say walking away I gave them everything I had. I gave every part of me and my ability. I have to feel good about that.”

He’s left Cincy. But he and Bengaldom claim each other.

(03-14-2017, 12:10 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: I posted this in another thread:

 
Now that I've looked at the deal, to me it makes the front office look worse than I initially thought.

Yep this one is still hard for me to swallow. 

Would be different if Ced and Fischer showed promise that they were ready, yet that was not the case. 

Throw in how beloved, loyal, and the high level Whit delivered while being a team leader.It is insulting we could not use a tag on him. 

Maybe if he was a kicker we would have. 

Think this was worse than not tagging JJ. 

(03-14-2017, 12:03 PM)Gamma Ray Tan Wrote: Wow, he didn't even want to be in the presence of this team. Do we, as fans, really need to hear anything more?

Not the ones who are happy with the troll version that proves how much Whit hates the Bengals.

But those interested in the truth might want to hear everything he said.

Green is the one that is likely done with the team. He specifically said Superbowl week during interviews the team needed to add pieces and get better in free agency, and that the window isn't closed. This offseason can't be what he expected. This is how our top players get disgruntled.

(03-14-2017, 12:15 PM)CageTheBengal Wrote: Way to cherry pick his words.

He was saying he has such an attachment to Cincy the the Bengals that it would be hard to play in a place that reminded him of Cincy. That's why he avoided the Vikings because of Zim.

Just wish the Bengals had been as loyal to him.

But once football starts he will have very little to do with the Bengals and concentrate on doing the best he can for the Rams I am sure. Plus how much can he tell the two once he is not seeing them practice. 

He is professional like that and was worthy of a tag more than almost every other Bengal in a while that I can recall.  

Class act all the way.  

Oh well it is a done deal now. 

(03-14-2017, 12:24 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Not the ones who are happy with the troll version that proves how much Whit hates the Bengals.

But those interested in the truth might want to hear everything he said.

"To me it was like, go all the way out to L.A. and start over or stay in Cincinnati and take whatever you can get.”

"Take whatever you can get." Look at his contract. It's stupid the front office didn't match that or sweeten the deal just enough to get him to stay.

I thought what Whit said was very classy and well thought out. Not to many players say they'll be pulling for their old team and help them out still, on top of choosing a team mostly because they won't play the Bengals until 2019.

(03-14-2017, 12:10 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: I posted this in another thread:

 
Now that I've looked at the deal, to me it makes the front office look worse than I initially thought.

This.....I opined for the transition tag just because.....cheap(er).

(03-14-2017, 12:37 PM)Hoofhearted Wrote: I thought what Whit said was very classy and well thought out. Not to many players say they'll be pulling for their old team and help them out still, on top of choosing a team mostly because they won't play the Bengals until 2019.

:andy:

(03-14-2017, 12:31 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: "To me it was like, go all the way out to L.A. and start over or stay in Cincinnati and take whatever you can get.”

"Take whatever you can get."  Look at his contract.  It's stupid the front office didn't match that or sweeten the deal just enough to get him to stay.

"Take what you can get" does not just mean money, he was looking for a multi-year deal. Not many teams would offer a lineman that old a multi year deal.

(03-14-2017, 12:28 PM)Go Cards Wrote: Just wish the Bengals had been as loyal to him.

But once football starts he will have very little to do with the Bengals and concentrate on doing the best he can for the Rams I am sure. Plus how much can he tell the two once he is not seeing them practice. 

He is professional like that and was worthy of a tag more than almost every other Bengal in a while that I can recall.  

Class act all the way.  

Oh well it is a done deal now. 

Totally agreed I'd love to see Whit stay. I honestly thought he'd retire here.

Yeah I think once OTAs and all of that begins he probably won't be having meetings with the Bengals players.

You just don't see players with the type of professionalism that Whit displayed too often these days.

He said this too. Not as cordial. Sounds like he was just trying to be nice about the situation, but definitely was wanting out.


Mar 13, 2017
Katherine Terrell
ESPN Staff Writer
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Longtime Cincinnati Bengals tackle Andrew Whitworth shocked quite a few people when he agreed to sign with the Los Angeles Rams on Day 1 of free agency, ending a tenure in Cincinnati that had lasted more than a decade.

But even though the two sides have cut ties, there are no hard feelings, he said.

"Anybody that knows me knows I love Cincinnati, I’m as loyal to them as anyone, it’s still bittersweet of course, but I love challenges," Whitworth said. "I feel like what’s made me the player I am is always being willing to take the challenge. ... I feel like my whole career [has been] a challenge.

"In my mind, taking on a challenge, moving to LA and trying to transform a team into a winner, that’s right up my alley. I love it and I’m excited about it. I’m just hoping I can stay healthy and play a couple more years and have a chance to get these guys in the right direction, whether I get to be part of their end success or not, just the chance to turn this thing around."

Whitworth, 35, knew entering the 2016 season that his time in Cincinnati might be coming to an end. The Bengals were reluctant to give him a new long-term contract in 2015, settling on a one-year extension that would keep him on the team through the 2016 season.

Around the same time, they drafted two tackles in the first two rounds of the 2015 draft. Whitworth had never hit free agency and figured he owed it to himself to listen to any offer. What surprised him was just how much interest he received at his age.

"I was floored and humbled by how many offers we got," he said. "You don’t really know sometimes how much you’re appreciated and looked at across the league until you start hearing that many teams call and make offers."

The door didn't fully close on returning to Cincinnati until late in the negotiating period. Cincinnati offered a one-year deal up to $10 million with incentives.

The Rams and Vikings were the most persistent among the suitors, but it was Los Angeles who wouldn't stop calling, eventually offering a three-year deal worth up to $36 million with $15 million fully guaranteed.

"It just felt cool to be wanted that much and it’s an opportunity for me to go somewhere," Whitworth said. "That’s truly all I can think about, the impact I can make for them over the next couple of years, and not really, whether this other guy is going to play and that kind of deal."

One thing that factored into his decision was a request by the Bengals for Whitworth to move to guard for one game so they could evaluate Cedric Ogbuehi, their 2015 first round pick, at left tackle. Whitworth didn't object, but it was a strange situation to move aside so the team could get a better look at his replacement.

If that happened once, it certainly could happen again.

"I think that’s the first thing that put it in my mind, do I really want to come back to that situation?," Whitworth said. "Because, at any point, next year, I’ve been around the league long enough to know, that investments are investments. If the season went south or things aren’t going how they want, what would be the next question to ask for that situation?.

"I thought it was important to consider that and give it an honest consideration, and not just, I have to stay here because I’m comfortable. And you know what? There’s a lot of veteran players that honestly being comfortable where they play is more important. And that’s just not me."

Still, it wasn't an easy choice to leave. Stay in Cincinnati, a place he and his family loved and knew, or move across the country to a team coming off a 4-9 season?

"I love Cincinnati, I love the city, I love Mike Brown, I love everything about it, but I saw them at a stage where they’re really just trying to hold on to me because I mean so much to them, but really they’re just trying to move forward with Cedric of course," Whitworth said. "Why wouldn’t they be? And he’s a really talented guy who I think will get settled and be a great player. But for me, it was like, man, I’d rather have a situation where I’m with a team that’s like ‘man, we want you to hold on as long as you can.’ Because we want you here."

Whitworth also wanted a fresh start. That's part of the reason he chose a team where he wouldn't be playing Cincinnati twice a year.


"At one point it was just purely loyalty, all you know is Cincinnati and you just need to go back there because that’s all you know," he said. "I started to really open my eyes to man, what a challenge, and a new place, that would be something that invigorates me and makes me want to push even harder and do even more, find some other part of me that I don’t know exists that I can challenge myself to become. And that’s what really intrigued me about the move.

"And then when I realized I was open to moving, and moving on to a new challenge, I really wanted to be away from Cincinnati’s situation. I wasn’t as keen on going somewhere where’d I play Cincinnati and be around it. I wanted to go far away and kind of have a fresh start."

Whitworth will be keeping an eye on the Bengals and rooting for them. He'll just be doing it from afar.

(03-14-2017, 12:31 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: "To me it was like, go all the way out to L.A. and start over or stay in Cincinnati and take whatever you can get.”

"Take whatever you can get."  Look at his contract.  It's stupid the front office didn't match that or sweeten the deal just enough to get him to stay.

This is where loyalty sometimes works in their favor IMO.

Players are fully aware that the contract they get here have a much, much higher probability of being seen thru to the end than vs other places. It gives them some bargaining power to give players a slightly lower salary because of it. But they end up hurting themselves with being smart with the way they manage the cap vs the talent on the roster. 

They could of easily offered him the same deal and executed it the same way the Rams will (after a year or two cut him). But it goes against their biggest negotiating tool and will hurt the younger players they're trying to or will negotiate with. 

(03-14-2017, 12:45 PM)Sled21 Wrote: "Take what you can get" does not just mean money, he was looking for a multi-year deal. Not many teams would offer a lineman that old a multi year deal.

Look at the deal.  His cap hit is $9.167 million this year or $166,667 more than the Bengals paid him last year.  The Rams can cut him after one year and the dead money is $3.33 million.  The dead money plus this year's salary is less than the price of the transition tag.  Thus, if Whit's performance drops the Rams can cut him and they essentially pay less than the transition tag.  The salary cap increased by $12 million this season, so just the salary cap increase alone pays for Whit's contract.  And if the Rams do cut him next year, they can take a $3.33 million dollar cap hit in 2018 or spread it over two years by designating him a June 1st cut ($1.67 million cap hit in 2018 and 2019.)

Can you explain to me what is so crazy about that deal?

In otherwords, the Bengals balked at signing Whitworth over $3.33 million in dead money.  M***** F******!

(03-14-2017, 12:15 PM)CageTheBengal Wrote: Way to cherry pick his words.

He was saying he has such an attachment to Cincy the the Bengals that it would be hard to play in a place that reminded him of Cincy. That's why he avoided the Vikings because of Zim.

Yeah I took it that way as well. There's plenty to be mad about right now. No need to make up stuff or misinterpret quotes.

(03-14-2017, 12:03 PM)Gamma Ray Tan Wrote: And then when I realized I was open to moving, and moving on to a new challenge, I really wanted to be away from Cincinnati’s situation. I wasn’t as keen on going somewhere where’d I play Cincinnati and be around it. I wanted to go far away and kind of have a fresh start."

Wow, he didn't even want to be in the presence of this team. Do we, as fans, really need to hear anything more?

:paul:   Try to slant stories much?