Joe Burrow’s rookie season in 2020 ended early after he suffered a torn ACL just 10 games into his first year. The Bengals weren’t having much success, starting 2-7-1, but he had 13 touchdown passes and five interceptions, looking every bit like a franchise quarterback.
Around the same time, Andrew Whitworth injured his knee, too, sidelining him for the second half of a season due to a sprained MCL and PCL. Whitworth wound up returning for the playoffs, but Burrow’s season ended after 10 games.
As difficult as those injuries were, they did lead to a friendship between Whitworth and Burrow, which has continued into this year. Burrow told reporters Monday that while he was rehabbing his knee in Los Angeles, he connected with Whitworth and became friends. Both players were recovering from injuries, and even spent their birthdays together at Whitworth’s house.
“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, via ProFootballTalk. “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.”
Whitworth and Burrow are both former LSU Tigers, each winning a national championship in Baton Rouge. Despite being 25 years apart, the two found plenty in common with each other.
They’ll square off in Super Bowl LVI with only one of them winning their first ring, but they’ve developed a friendship that goes beyond the field.
