The Cincinnati Bengals are one of the most loyal teams in the league. Despite winning just one playoff game in nearly a dozen years, Marvin Lewis is firmly supplanted at head coach and quarterback Andy Dalton was inked to a six-year $116 million extension. However, the millions in excesses paid to Lewis and Dalton is nothing compared to the Bengals remarkable decision to stay loyal to defensive tackle Devon Still.
After two underwhelming seasons as a Bengals that includes just half a sack and seven tackles, the organization waived the 25-year-old Still after the fourth and final preseason game.
It was a major blow to Still, who didn't expect to be picked up by another team and wanted to be near his cancer-stricken daughter, Leah in Cincinnati.
However, in a compassionate gesture, the Bengals decided this week to pick him up on their practice squad so that he could afford treatment for 4-year-old Leah.
It's the best of both worlds for Still who skipped a large portion of mini-camp and offseason team activities to be with his daughter as she underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy. In the normally cutthroat NFL, the Bengals loyalty to a second-round bust out of Penn State is a rare one.
As part of the practice squad, Still will be able to remain close to his daughter as she undergoes treatment for stage 4 pediatric cancer while also earning $6,300 per week and medical insurance.
Via ABC News:
“I completely understand where the Bengals were coming from when they cut me because I couldn’t give football 100 percent right now,” Still told ABC News.
“They could have washed their hands with me and said they didn’t care about what I was going through off the field,” Still said. “It’s like a blessing in disguise for me.
