Cincinnati Bengals didn’t know much about what defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins was dealing with as he missed the last seven of the team’s 17 games during the 2024 season.
In March 2024, Rankins had signed a two-year deal with the Bengals worth $24.5 million, with $8 million guaranteed.
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Rankins suffered an early-season injury and missed three games. He returned for five games, but had viral meningitis and shingles after the Bengals’ Week 10 loss to Baltimore.
Houston Texans defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins
Rankins played in seven games with the Bengals, and the team released him in February. Rankins returned in March to the Houston Texans, the team for which he played the 2023 season.
Rankins told reporters that he lost about 50 pounds as he battled those health conditions last season.
“A lot of people don’t know and a lot of people thought, ‘What type of illness or what type of thing could have someone out this long?'” Rankins told reporters. “A lot of people don’t know I was laying horizontal in a dark house for probably about a month and a half before I could really even sit up. You know, it was really kind of crazy.”
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From Aaron Wilson via Twitter/X:
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Sheldon Rankins discusses health scare during season with Bengals