A person familiar with the situation says New Orleans Saints defensive tackle and first-round draft choice Sheldon Rankins has been diagnosed with a broken fibula, an injury that occurred Monday during training camp practice in West Virginia.
The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Saints haven’t disclosed Rankins’ injury, says Rankins is seeking a second opinion but appears to need surgery. Typically, fractured fibulas are not season-ending but sideline players for more than a month.
Saints training staff used a cart to take Rankins off the practice field in White Sulphur Springs after he went down during drills simulating goal-line situations.
Coach Sean Payton said he wasn’t “going to speculate” about Rankins’ condition and said, “hopefully, the news is good.”
The 6-foot-2, 305-pound Rankins was drafted 12th overall out of Louisville. He’s among several players New Orleans acquired in hopes of improving a defense that ranked second-to-last in the NFL the past two seasons.
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