Sheldon Rankins Eager to Bolster Bengals' Pass Rush, Show He's a Complete Player

Rankins is the newest member of the Bengals' defensive line.

CINCINNATI — The Bengals officially introduced Sheldon Rankins on Monday morning. 

The veteran defensive tackle made one thing clear: He is going to speak freely. 

The first thing he said to Zac Taylor wasn't "Hello" or "how are you" it was "Why the f*** did you not slide?”

Rankins had three sacks in the Texans' 30-27 win over the Bengals in November. He thought he should've had at least two more. He was also shocked when the Bengals didn't slide their protection toward him and left him 1-on-1 throughout the game. 

"They didn't slide and I don’t know why," Rankins said on Monday. "That's the first question I asked. We just kind of laughed about it." 

He thinks more about the sacks he didn't make, including a potential sack fumble that would've sealed the deal for the Texans in a game that ultimately won 30-27.

"I beat Cappa with a stab club," Rankins said. "After I've been kicking his ass all day, I'm setting up to win the game. I'm like OK, cool. I know this move is going to kill him. Sack, ball out, game over. In my head, I'm literally walking through this because it's gonna happen. So I execute the move perfectly and beat Cappa; Jonah, at the last second, kind of comes back and just pushes me enough. If you go back and watch, I beat him clean and you see me fall and you see my arm slap down. It's because in my mind I'm going to strip the ball. Like, it's happening. So I'm reaching for the ball, but I get bumped and Joe (Burrow) runs out, throws the ball and Will Anderson chases him and gets a quarterback hit."

Rankins turns 30-years-old in two weeks. He's coming off of a six sack season for the Texans—a number that he thinks he could've put up against the Bengals in their matchup last season. 

He should give the Bengals' interior pass rush a major boost, but he wants everyone to know he's good against the run too. 

"I play football really well. I don't just rush the passer really well," Rankins said. "I felt like I could be something that was missing [in Cincinnati]. What I add in terms of leadership. In terms of being able to rush the passer, I know I don’t get too much credit for it but I feel like I stop the run pretty well. Otherwise, I wouldn't’ be a guy that is out there all the time. I feel like everything I can do, I feel like I can do it at a high enough level to really push this group forward and really be a true force for this team."

Rankins has at least 32 tackles and three sacks in each of the past three seasons (2021-23), appearing in at least 15 games per season. He had nine tackles-for-loss last season and 10 quarterback hits. 

The Bengals may have lost DJ Reader, but Rankins should give them a major boost on the interior. He'll also fit right in with Trey Hendrickson—the two played together for four seasons in New Orleans. 

"You guys have watched Trey practice and I’m sure [you've] seen him fighting. That’s who he was when I met him," Rankins said. "His rookie minicamp practice, I’m sure he got kicked out for fighting. I was unofficially Trey’s wrangler in New Orleans. Happy to hold those reins again." 

The Bengals are also happy the "Trey Wrangler" is in Cincinnati. 

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