This morning, NFL broadcaster Andrew Whitworth raised an important issue, and it’s not about draft picks or game strategies. He’s shining a light on a bigger concern: how the current schedule is affecting health. After weeks of traveling to cover back-to-back NFL games, the former player opened up about the toll it’s taken on him.

He shared on X, “Good morning! I think I have gained 20 lbs since the NFL on Prime schedule started. “Who knew pulling all-nighters, air travel, and way less physical activity wasn’t great for you??”

As an analyst for Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football, Whitworth’s calendar leaves little breathing room. He provides pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage alongside Charissa Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman, and Ryan Fitzpatrick. This means that when there’s a Thursday Night Football game, he’s often just coming off a Sunday game, with travel, preparation, and production meetings squeezed in between.

In short, it’s a grind few see behind the screen. He followed up in the comments, saying, “There comes a time you have to put your feet in the ground. Make a stand! … It’s time! Let’s get it!” These words weren’t just self-reflection; they’re a call to change the lifestyle that comes with long broadcast weeks.

For Whitworth, the mix of time zones, hotel rooms, and late-night obligations left less room for workouts or recovery. He didn’t merely joke about the weight gain. He pointed to an imbalance and a need to reset. It’s rare for a media figure to admit being stretched thin, especially one still active in high-profile football coverage.

Whitworth’s truth suggests everyone working under the NFL’s extended window—players, coaches, and broadcasters—face similar pressures. While the flood of primetime games brings global exposure, it may also bring physical and mental wear. And for Whitworth, the message is clear: pointing fingers won’t help; discipline will.

If the league is listening, this might be the moment to reconsider how they structure workloads and travel.

Andrew Whitworth calls out Steelers defense after Bengals win

Andrew Whitworth didn’t hold back after watching the Steelers collapse on Thursday night. The former Bengals left tackle delivered a pointed critique of Pittsburgh’s defense after Joe Flacco and the Bengals carved them up in a 33-31 win.

“You look at these last three games that they’ve won and who they’ve really played… there’s some questions of how good they really are,” Whitworth said on the broadcast. “Is this the Steelers defense I played years ago in this division? It’s not. The physicality, really, that is not this team.”

Whitworth noted that teams have been running away from T.J. Watt and that the overall toughness that once defined Pittsburgh’s defense has faded. “You don’t ever see that happen to a Steelers defense,” he added. “A team comes in and just runs the football all over them… There’s more questions than answers of who they are going forward after this.”

The loss exposed cracks in the NFL’s highest-paid defense, which had prided itself on containing AFC North opponents like Cincinnati. Despite building a secondary to slow down Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the Steelers were picked apart by a quarterback still learning his teammates’ names.

Beyond the broadcast booth, Whitworth also took time to speak about injured Bengals star Joe Burrow, who remains sidelined with a turf toe injury. Speaking on the Bengals Booth Podcast, Whitworth shared his support: “You don’t want them to lose sight of who they are and why they’re so special… We love the human being.”

As Flacco revives Cincinnati’s season, Whitworth’s words serve as both a critique and a reminder that physicality fades, but resilience, like Burrow’s, never does.