McVay: LT Andrew Whitworth will be available for Championship round

Los Angeles Rams indicated on Friday that left tackle Andrew Whitworth will be available for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers, per Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.

Whitworth has been dealing with an ankle injury he sustained in the Wild Card round against the Cardinals. The All-Pro sat out of last Sunday’s 30-27 Divisional round victory over the Buccaneers and was replaced by Joe Notebloom, who did an excellent job himself in neutralizing the Tampa Bay pass rush for most of the game. Notebloom himself is dealing with a chest injury and didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday.

As for Whitworth, it’s huge news for the Rams to be getting its 16-year veteran tackle back in time for a critical showdown against a division rival. The All-Pro had appeared in a least 90% of snaps in 14 of his 16 appearances this season.

Fantasy football implications

Whitworth’s presence makes life easier for the Rams’ offense. It increases the DFS value for running back Cam Akers as well as quarterback Matthew Stafford.