Overview:
• The Cincinnati Bengals have signed Sheldon Rankins, a defensive tackle who had previously played for the New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans, and New York Jets, to replace D.J. Reader, who left the team in free agency.
• Rankins, who is known for his ability to stop the run, had a quiet debut in the Bengals' opening game against the New England Patriots, but the team is confident in his ability to make an impact this season.
• The Bengals will need him to step up in their upcoming game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
A few years ago the Bengals did what they don’t normally do. They went out free agent shopping for new players. Mike Brown finally came to the realization to compete in the current market that’s what he was going to have to do. The team went out and got big interior tackle D.J. Reader in 2020.
Reader was a free agent from the Houston Texans. The massive lineman served his purpose while in Cincinnati. He stopped teams running attacks and was a leader. As injures started to mount and age started to creep in, Cincinnati decided they got as much as they could get out of the former Clemson Tiger and didn’t pursue a new contract.
In a game against the Houston Texas in 2023, Cincinnati lost in overtime. The story of the game was a man that sacked Joe Burrow not once, not twice, but three times. It was interior lineman Sheldon Rankins. There’s an old saying. If you can’t beat’m, join’m. Er. in this case, if you can’t beat’m, let’m join you. That’s exactly what the Bengals did. As Reader went north to Detroit, Cincinnati decided to fill his shoes with a man that demolished the Bengal interior offensive line. Sheldon Rankins was signed by the Bengals in March of 2024.
Rankins, who went to Louisville, has been around the league. He was a first-round draft choice by the New Orleans Saints in 2015. Before being signed by the Bengals, Rankins had stints with the Saints, Jets and Texans. The Bengals knew they were getting a solid veteran who was capable of big things. Cincinnati was one of the worst teams against the run in 2023. For the team to get to where they wanted to be, they had to get stronger against the run. While Rankins may be a better pass rusher than was Reader, he may not be as strong against the run.
This past weekend Rankins got his first taste of life in stripes. It was not an overwhelmingly good debut, as Rankins and the Bengal defense were run on nearly at will by underdog New England Patriots.
Cincinnati lost their opening game to the underdog Patriots 16-10. While Rankins debut as a Bengal was not stellar with 1 tackle and 2 assists with no sacks, the team has full faith the former Louisville Cardinal will make an impact this season.
Rankins will need to be at his best this coming weekend as Cincinnati will head to Kansas City to play rival Kansas City. For Sheldon Rankins it will be an opportunity to lead a defense that still has many questions.