With the final injury report revealing the Cincinnati Bengals will have defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins back in Week 6 against the New York Giants, the veteran hopes his presence can turn things around for the unit.
Rankins, who went down in Week 2 during the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, says his return, alongside B.J. Hill, can potentially light a fuse for the unit.
“We haven’t had our four (regulars) together yet. I get that’s the way the NFL works sometimes,” Rankins said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “We feel like when we’ve got our guys and we’re operating on all cylinders, we can be really special. We look forward to putting that on display on Sunday Night Football. (The offense) is rolling right now. It’s on us to uphold our end and doing it the rest of the way.”
Rankins left that loss to Kansas City, returned, then left again before missing the team’s next three games. He was the key piece the Bengals added in an attempt to offset the loss of DJ Reader in free agency to the Detroit Lions.
While he’s been out, Hill missed time, rookie Kris Jenkins Jr. slowly worked back from injury and rookie McKinnley Jackson only just recently got off injured reeve.
If Rankins is right, the defense might finally be able to pick up some of the slack and balance the scales a little to help support what is currently an MVP-like performance from Joe Burrow on offense.
