DT Rankins sold on Jets by Saleh

New Jets defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said a sales pitch from coach Robert Saleh sold him on coming to New York.

Rankins agreed to a two-year deal worth up to $17 million with the Jets on Sunday. During an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Monday, Rankins said Saleh was a selling point to join the Jets.

“When he called me and expressed his interest and how much he really wanted me to be a part of this and the vision he had for me and Quinnen [Williams] inside and Carl [Lawson] out on the edge, it got me fired up,” Rankins said. “It made me want to be a part of something special.”

Rankins spent the past five seasons with the Saints. His best season was in 2018 when he had eight sacks and 12 tackles for loss. He has been dealing with Achilles tendon issues for the past two seasons that hurt his production. Rankins, who turns 27 next month, said the issues have been resolved and he is healthy.

“The last couple of years haven’t gone exactly the way I wanted,” Rankin said. “One thing I can assure is that I’m back, as far as feeling like myself.”

The Jets added Lawson on the outside to give Saleh’s defense a boost. The defensive line already featured Williams, who is coming off a strong second year. Rankins said he is a fan of Williams, who the Jets drafted No. 3 overall in 2019 out of Alabama.

“I’ve watched Quinnen since he was at Alabama,” Rankins said. “I watched the true impact defender that he really is. Watching him flourish last year, but he’s really only scratching the surface.”

Rankins said he spoke with guys who played for Saleh in San Francisco, where he was defensive coordinator from 2017-20, and feels he is a good fit for his defense.

“I think, you know, for me going into this whole process I kind of had a few things that were going to be important to me,” Rankins said. “Scheme fit was going to be big, and opportunity and vision. I needed a team to see me as the player that I saw myself as and I think I got that, you know, with the Jets.”