#Sheldon Rankins joined Jets after Robert Saleh got him ‘fired up’

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. He’s still doing a lot of things off just being better than a lot of people. I think once you fine tune some things … I’ve been around this game going on six years now. I’ve seen a lot, been through a lot. I can give him some nuggets here and there.”

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. So, you know, when all those things lined up and I obviously spoke with everybody in the building and saw what we’re capable of building and saw what they’re already building, you know, I jumped on board.”

Rankins feels now that he is healthy, he is ready for a big season.

“I think I’m back to feeling like every bit of what I felt like in 2018, which is obviously my best year where I felt like I was coming into my own as a premier d-tackle in this league,” he said. “Last few years have been frustrating, you know, because me as a player, I’m going to battle through anything and everything I can to be out there, you know, fighting with my teammates. And at times, you know, obviously, from the outside perspective, they don’t see all the things I’m battling through and they just see me as not being productive or not being explosive or not being the guy I was from before, not knowing everything I’m dealing with. So, it is tough, you know, it’s tough mentally, tough physically, but you know, weak minded and weak individuals don’t play these games. So, you know, I’ve been able to battle through it and, and continue to work and continue to trust in my own process, you know, continue to trust in my own abilities and, and continue to trust that, you know, there’s going to be a point where I feel like myself again. And once I hit that point, you know, it’s time to shut all the noise off.”