From a positional perspective, Witherspoon honed in on tailoring his playing height to specific situations. In tight areas – press coverage, changing direction, getting in and out of breaks – he needs to stay lower to maximize explosiveness.
Conversely, he wants to use his height and long strides to keep up with speedsters on the outside.
At 6-foot-3, playing tall is his natural instinct, but isn't always the ideal strategy. So, Witherspoon has trained his body, in both individual and team drills, to activate whatever play style the moment calls for.
He's also changed his frame somewhat since last season, adding three or four pounds of muscle.
"Just preparing the body for the long haul of a season," Witherspoon said. "Motivated like I am every offseason to get better and find out what that area is. This year is about getting stronger just so I can be more consistent in terms of – play in, play out – being myself."
Injuries have been a continuous hurdle for Witherspoon during his football journey. Still, he's found a bright side to that unfortunate reality.
In eight seasons, Witherspoon has played 97 games (including playoffs) and started 67. That's an average of just over 12 games and eight starts per year, so his mileage isn't that of a typical ninth-year player.
He also didn't start playing football until his senior year of high school and sat his entire freshman year at Colorado. At this point in his NFL career, Witherspoon's body has been preserved at a level few others have matched.
"I do feel like I've benefited from some of the injuries I had early on taking reps off my body, starting playing football later in my life taking reps off my body," Witherspoon said. "And I'm just really thankful honestly just for the challenges (I've endured) to get to this point, but also just pouring into the opportunity that I do have right now."
Witherspoon felt like he was still learning the nuances of the cornerback position during his first two seasons in the NFL. But now, it feels like he may be in the midst of his mental and physical prime at 30 years young.
"He's played a lot of football, but he's got this young energy," said head coach Sean McVay. "... He's got some wisdom, he's got a bunch of different experiences he's accumulated, but really has an understanding and an ownership of the intent of what we're trying to really get done."