Cincinanti Bengals Pro Bowl tackle Andrew Whitworth hopes to be healthy for opener

The Cincinnati Bengals offensive line has looked shaky “at best” during the preseason,and a big part of that has been due to the lack of not having offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth to protect Andy Dalton’s blindside. After he didn’t play this weekend vs. the Dallas Cowboys when most expected him to, the concern that he could miss the opener began creeping in.

An offseason knee procedure knocked him out of OTAs, but the belief was he’d be ready for training camp. The Bengals held him out of the first three weeks of action, and now it appears Whitowrth will have missed the entire preseason when it’s all said and done.

Whitworth has been insisting his experience allows him to be able to play in the opener with little work, and is confident in his ability to come back from the injury and continue to make a positive impact:

"“It’s not a great scenario, but it’s the scenario we’re in,” Whitworth said. “I’ve played a lot of football and the truth is the game I play is more about studying people, knowing the ins and outs and playing technically sound. Every single week I’m a guy that prepares totally different for a team. That’s really the issue.“I’m not some rookie who sprained his ankle and I’m back the next game. I’m an older player that’s got an  injury. I’m going to get it ready the best I can and every one that knows me knows I’m going to do everything possible to be back as fast as possible.”"

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis also said in his Monday news conference that he has confidence Whitworth can be ready for the opener vs. the Chicago Bears.