INGLEWOOD — Rams offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth cemented his legacy for his charitable work off the field on Thursday night when he was named the 2021 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year at the NFL Honors award show.

As the winner of the award, he will receive $250,000 to donate to the charity of his choice and the opportunity to wear a jersey patch depicting the honor through the completion of his career.

“When you go out and you give of yourself you realize how much you get back because you start to appreciate all the little things in life that helped you get exactly where you are and all the people that may have given you support,” Whitworth said. “You realize how important that was to your growth and how much you can affect other people and what a cool feeling and platform it is.”

Among his charitable acts, Whitworth’s “Big Whit Homes for LA Families” program partnered with the St. Joseph Center and LA Family Housing and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles to help locals in need move into housing. The funds he donated were utilized to help individuals in need with paying for rent and groceries.

The Rams’ captain donated $20,000 after each home game this past season to help support the housing issue locally and in his home state of Louisiana.

This was the third consecutive year that Whitworth was the Rams’ nominee for the award but the first time he has won.

He accepted the award at the YouTube Theater, part of a busy week in which he and his teammates are preparing for Super Bowl LVI on Sunday against his former team, the Cincinnati Bengals.

It will be just the second Super Bowl appearance of his 16-year professional career. He is one of 12 current Rams who were on the team during its last Super Bowl appearance in 2018. As if the stakes couldn’t be any higher for Whitworth, Sunday’s game might also be his last.

“I’ll decide after the season,” Whitworth said. “I think you have to step away for a second (before making that decision), but what a cool ending if it is with the two (teams) that I’ve poured my heart and soul into and mean the world to me.”

He was a second-round draft pick of the Bengals in 2006 and spent 11 years with the organization before leaving for the Rams in 2017 as a free agent. He signed a three-year, $36 million contract, then signed a new deal last year to return for 2021.

If it was up to the offensive lineman, he’d be fine staying out of the spotlight, but that’s hard to do at this stage of his career.

“If people want to talk about it that’s awesome,” he said. “But like I said, the less time people spend saying my name, it means I’m probably not getting a penalty and I’m doing my job.”

Whitworth, 40, also became the league’s oldest active player after Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement.

“(Brady is) the G.O.A.T. and has been a really special one,” Whitworth said. “Obviously there’s a lot of (different) physical challenges playing (as a lineman) at 40 years old compared to playing quarterback at 44-years old, but that doesn’t take away from what he’s been able to accomplish and all the success he’s had. … He has all his fingers covered in rings.”

Whitworth, who turned 40 in December, still has fun going out and playing against the 20-something “defensive ends that think nothing can phase them.”

“I’m going out there just trying to put my body together enough to make it through the game,” he said. “But it’s so much fun to go out there and guys come up to me after the game. … I’ve had some special moments over the years with guys.”

He reflected on a moment he shared with Derrick Barnes of the Detroit Lions, who he remembered as a child in Covington, Kentucky.

“For (Barnes) to make it to the NFL and to come find me and give me a hug and tell me thank you for all the years I mentored him there at that Boys and Girls Club,” Whitworth said. “There’s just some surreal and unbelievable moments that have happened to me now playing at this age.”

Even though he’s been able to play well beyond the average length for a player’s career in the NFL, Whitworth still had to overcome the injuries that come with the physical nature of the sport.

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He missed part of last season with a knee injury, which might have fueled his desire to return for another season and end his career on his terms.

While he was out, he still managed to serve as a mentor to players who started their careers in the same manner as he did.

When he was away from the Rams to rehab, Whitworth formed a relationship with young Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

Both Whitworth and Burrow starred at LSU, but their friendship started in California.

Burrow tore his ACL during his rookie season and spent most of his time rehabbing in Los Angeles. Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who is also the Rams’ team doctor, operated on the quarterback.

“When I got hurt, I lived about 40 minutes from where he was living, and we were both hurt at the same time,” Burrow said. “It was a cool thing that he did for me. Reaching out to me and making the rehab process easier being in California away from a lot of people that are close to me. He took me in. He’s become a good friend.”

Burrow mentioned he would go over to Whitworth’s house to watch games together on Sunday and spent each other’s birthdays with one another.

“Nothing shocks me with Joe,” Whitworth said. “His mentality and mindset for the game of football is so special and so rare that he’s going to be a really good player for a long time. I think people in Cincinnati are going to have a chance to maybe experience (Super Bowls) a couple more times as long as Joe Burrow is the quarterback.”

Burrow credits Whitworth with sharing valuable information about the Bengals and LSU but wasn’t willing to share much more regarding those conversations when asked to elaborate.