Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and the Cincinnati Bengals agreed to a two-year, $26 million deal, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Wednesday.
The Texans were in the mix to re-sign Rankins, a source told Fowler.
Rankins, 29, joined Houston on a one-year, $10.5 million contract in 2023 after spending two seasons with the New York Jets. The familiarity with coach DeMeco Ryans’ scheme led him to Houston as Ryans and Jets coach Robert Saleh run the same system.
As a result, Rankins had 6 sacks, the second most in a single season for the former Saints first-rounder, who set his career best with 8 sacks for New Orleans in 2018.
Rankins spent the first five seasons of his career with the Saints, who selected him 12th overall in 2016. For his career, he has 29.5 sacks, 228 tackles and 5 forced fumbles in 109 games.
ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime contributed to this report.