Charissa Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andrew Whitworth and Richard Sherman. Photo Credit: Prime Video Photo Credit: Prime Video

As a 17-year veteran in the NFL, Whitworth has countless longstanding relationships with his former teammates that will last a lifetime. Luckily, it sounds like his career after football in sports media has been much of the same for him.

Shortly after his retirement after the 2021-22 season, Whitworth agreed to join Amazon Prime Video for their inaugural season of broadcasting Thursday Night Football, a role he has served as a studio analyst for pregame and postgame analysis ever since.

In a recent conversation with The Spun, Whitworth discussed his favorite part of his sports media career at Amazon. He responded by describing the close relationships he has built with both his on-air colleagues and those behind the scenes on Thursday Night Football.

“I think just the actual locker room, community, team… Whatever you want to call it, of being part of something like that,” said Whitworth in an interview with Hunter Hodies. “It’s funny, driving in today, my son asked me, ‘Hey dad, when you joined Amazon, did it already exist or is it new?’ I was like, ‘No, let me explain this. I think I’ve explained this, but I’ll explain it again.’ I was explaining to him how we all started it together and how it was Amazon’s first time having Thursday Night Football, the first time it’s ever been streamed, we’re first-time employees there, everybody behind the camera, production, etc. It’s been so cool to be part of that from the beginning. To say that we’re tight is a massive understatement. We are family, in front of the camera and behind it.

“My favorite part has been that family and the respect I have gained for all the people who work behind the scenes to make it such a special show and make it what it is. I’ve got a newfound respect for what goes into that, how hard people work to do it, and as I say, when you’re in front of the camera, you’re living the QB life. It’s the easy part, you show up, smile, wave, and talk some football. But, the people behind that camera are living the o-line life. They are grinding and working hard and not getting as much credit as they should so it’s been really cool to learn all of those dynamics.”

For much of his career as an NFL player, Whitworth was largely overshadowed by some of the more prominent skill position players he shared the field with, like Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and even Andy Dalton and A.J. Green, dating back to his days on the Cincinnati Bengals.

Luckily, the narrative about offensive linemen has begun to change in sports media. Perhaps more than ever, former offensive linemen, including Whitworth, ESPN’s Jason Kelce, NFL Network’s Joe Thomas, and Taylor Lewan of Barstool Sports, have changed the narrative about the position group, showing off their charisma and personality for their respective networks.

It certainly helps that Whitworth feels at home on the set of Thursday Night Football.

So, expect him to stay in his current role as long as Amazon keeps him.

[The Spun]

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.