LOS ANGELES — The 11th annual 'NFL Honors' night was broadcast on Thursday night and while the big stories were Aaron Rodgers winning MVP and Joe Burrow winning Comeback Player of the Year, there was one speech that was the most memorable.
That came from Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year recipient Andrew Whitworth, the 40-year-old starting left tackle for the Los Angeles Rams, who will try to get his first Super Bowl ring on Sunday.
Whitworth told an iconic story that took place after a game against the Detroit Lions this season.
On the field after the game, Whitworth said he was approached by Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes, who Detroit selected in the fourth round of last year's NFL Draft.
Whitworth said in his speech he wasn't sure why Barnes was sprinting over to him right after the game ended.
"It made me so nervous, I couldn't place him. Have I actually been playing long enough that a coaches son or a player's son is playing against me?" the NFL veteran joked.
Whitworth then explained what Barnes said to him.
"He said, 'Hey man, you're not going to remember me...you spent time with me when you were a young player in Cincinnati at the Boys & Girls Club, and it meant the world to me. You used to sit with me and talk to me about life and I was just a little kid. I wanted you to know how much it meant to me." Whitworth remembered. "He goes, 'You know what, the main thing I wanted to say, Whit, I made it. I made it to the NFL, Big Whit.'"
Whitworth played in Cincinnati for the Bengals from 2006 to 2016.
Barnes, 22, was in attendance at the NFL Honors for Whitworth's award.
"I made an investment in him and I didn't even know it," Whitworth said. "I think that's a great lesson for all of us. None of us know when the moment's going to present itself. The key is to always be available when it does."
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