New Orleans Saints rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins was carted off the practice field Monday with a broken fibula, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports.
Considering the alternatives, this news is about as good as the Saints could have hoped for. The 12th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Rankins was expected to give a boost to a lagging interior pass rush. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports Rankins will undergo surgery and is only expected to miss six weeks, but it is possible he is sidelined for much longer.
Our algorithms projected Rankins for 46.77 tackles and 4.33 sacks prior to this injury. Nick Fairley will be the primary playing-time benefactor of this injury.
Source: Rotoworld.com