Reports: Saints lose Sheldon Rankins to ankle injury, add Noah Spence and T.Y. McGill to depleted defensive line

The losses keep coming for the Saints defensive after the heart-breaking defeat in a shootout against the 49ers.

News broke Tuesday that starting defensive end Marcus Davenport had been lost for the year due to a Lisfranc fracture. A day later, it appears defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins may have a season-ending ankle injury.

Another hit to the #Saints defensive front: DT Sheldon Rankins, who left Sunday early, has an ankle injury deemed significant, sources say. At this point, it doesn’t sound like he’ll be able to return this season. Combined with Marcus Davenport’s Lisfranc injury, rough few days.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 11, 2019

Both defensive linemen were injured in Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

To help replace the depth, New Orleans had reportedly decided to sign former Buccaneers defensive end Noah Spence and veteran defensive tackle T.Y. McGill. I

Injury problems hindered Spence in his three years with Tampa Bay but the former high second round pick had considerable potential as an edge rusher. The much traveled McGill has spent time with the Indianapolis Colts (2015-16), Cleveland Browns (2017), Philadelphia Eagles (2018), Los Angeles Chargers (2018) and Washington Redskins (2019).