HOUSTON – Sheldon Rankins kept busting through the line of scrimmage, a powerful force inside who manhandled the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive line.
Rankins relentlessly broke through blocks and chased down Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow, recording a career-high three sacks go to with four quarterback hits, two tackles for losses and one forced fumble during the Texans’ 30-27 road victory last season.
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Now, Rankins is joining the Bengals as the replacement for D.J. Reader. Rankins agreed to a two-year, $26 million contract, according to a league source.
Rankins recorded six sacks last season. He had interest in returning to the Texans, but instead leaves along with Maliek Collins, who was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a seventh-round draft pick, and defensive end Jonathan Greenard, who signed a four-year, $76 million deal to join the Minnesota Vikings.
No defensive tackle other than Rankins had a three-sack game this season. The last time a defensive tackle had three sacks in a single game was last year at the Texans’ expense when Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Javon Hargrave disrupted the pocket in a November Thursday night game.
“We’re just playing our style of football, and showing the whole league who we are,” Rankins said after the Bengals game. “No matter who the opposition is, we don’t bat an eye. As the young kids say, we don’t duck no smoke. It doesn’t matter who we line up against, who the opposition is, we like us 100 times out of 100.”
Rankins, 29, signed a one-year, $10.5 million free agent deal with the Texans last season. They envisioned him an anchor for their defensive line playing next to Collins.
Signed to a deal that includes a $7 million signing bonus, Rankins fniished the season with 37 tackles, one forced fumble and returned a fumble for a touchdown.
Rankins, 29, recorded 43 tackles, three sacks, seven quarterback hits and four tackles for losses last season for the New York Jets.
He became the sixth Texans player to record three sacks in a single game. That hadn’t happened since a Sept. 23, 2018 performance by J.J. Watt against the New York Giants.
According to NextGenStats, Rankins generated a career-high seven pressures in addition to his three sacks against Bengals right guard Alex Cappa. Yes, that’s the most sacks allowed by a guard to an individual pass rusher in a game this season.
When Rankins played for the Saints, he had a lot of freedom to move around the formation and call his own shots.
As physically impressive as Rankins is with his rare combination of strength, quickness and pass rushing moves, his intelligence is equally noteworthy and a major component of his game.
“Yeah, I’ve always been a guy who’s kind of seen the big picture, understand what’s coming, understand what teams are trying to do, and always trying to get my guys on the same page so we can play fast,” Rankins said. “Understand how they’re trying to attack us, and go out there and try and make as many plays as possible.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
