The Jets are adding another piece to their defensive front.
Per NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo, New York will sign former Saints first-round pick Sheldon Rankins to a two-year deal worth up to $17 million.
Tom Pelissero, also of NFL Media, reports the Bengals pushed to sign Rankins, but he decided to land in the AFC East.
New Orleans selected Rankins at No. 12 overall in the 2016 draft. He’s since appeared in 63 games with 33 starts, but has dealt with significant injuries throughout his career.
Rankins broke his leg during training camp as a rookie, and played only nine games in 2016. He then started all 32 games in the next two regular seasons, but suffered a torn Achilles in the divisional round of the 2018 playoffs. He played only 10 games in 2019 and 12 in 2020.
In his best season of 2018, the defensive tackle racked up 8.0 sacks with 12 tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hits. Rankins has recorded 17.5 sacks, 25 tackles for loss, and 44 quarterback hits in his career.
Rankins was No. 93 on PFT’s list of top 100 free agents.