Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith suffered an avulsion fracture of the knee earlier this week, and is expected to be out until at least December. With this massive loss on the offensive line, Jerry Jones and Co. would like to find the best replacement possible, and one of those potential options could be a recently retired player.
Former Los Angeles Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth wrapped up his NFL career in February in probably the best way possible — winning the Super Bowl against his former team in the Cincinnati Bengals. After receiving his ring, the 40-year-old Whitworth decided to hang up the cleats after playing 16 seasons, and join Amazon’s NFL coverage team.
During Thursday night’s preseason matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans, Whitworth was asked if his phone had been ringing.
“It has,” Whitworth said. “I mean, obviously, there’s been some things with the Cowboys and losing Tyron Smith. It’s just an awful deal. Such a great player, and a guy I’ve always just loved watching play. It’s been a busy day of answering calls. The problem is they’re calling and texting the wrong person. They need to be texting and calling Melissa Whitworth and the kids, because they have final approval on whether I’m ever going to play football again.”
Some believed Whitworth was saying that the Cowboys had reached out to him, but he attempted to shoot that down on Twitter.
“Not what I said,” Whitworth tweeted in response to an article published saying he had indicated Dallas reached out to him. “I said I answered calls and text from people all day since the injury. Begging me to go to the cowboys! Thx.”
Even Cowboys star linebacker Micah Parsons is hoping Whitworth joins “America’s Team:”
According to CBS Sports NFL Insiders Jonathan Jones and Josina Anderson, the Cowboys are turning their attention to in-house replacements while also working through options on the free agent market. At this point, that does not include Whitworth — who is actually still under contract. Our own Jeff Kerr breaks down a list of potential replacements for the injured Smith.
