Kvoethe Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 Bengals' Signing Of Player Will Let Him Pay For Daughter's Cancer Care by BILL CHAPPELL September 06, 201410:02 AM ET i Defensive tackle Devon Still says that being on the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad will let him keep his insurance and to stay close to his daughter, who's battling cancer. Christian Petersen/Getty Images It's possible that no NFL player has ever been so relieved to be on his team's practice squad. For Devon Still, the Cincinnati Bengals' decision means he'll be able to stay close to his daughter, who's fighting cancer and it will help pay for the roughly $1 million her fight will require. Still is a defensive tackle who was drafted by the Bengals in 2012. He says he would have understood if the team didn't want him now, as he's admittedly distracted from football by the struggles of his four-year-old daughter, Leah, who has stage 4 cancer. As Still told the Cincinnati Enquirer this week, "They could have just washed their hands completely of it." Instead, the team cut him from the 53-member squad that plays on Sundays, and then signed him to its practice team. The arrangement brings several big benefits. Still will keep his health insurance; he won't have to travel for road games. And at 25, he'll be able to work toward rejoining the team. Those are all welcome developments for Still and his family. He says his daughter, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in June, has now undergone four rounds of chemotherapy, and that she's due for surgery to remove a tumor later this month. "Originally, when I found out, I was going to take the year off and just be there with my daughter, because doctors gave her a 50-50 chance of surviving," Still tells ESPN. "So, I wanted to be able to spend as much time with her as possible." When he spoke to family and friends, Still realized how important it was to keep his health insurance, he says, "Because the type of treatment that she's receiving, it's going to come up to about $1 million." His insurance would cover all of that amount, he says. Still, who starred at Penn State in college, has started a fundraising drive to help Children's Hospitals in Pennsylvania and Cincinnati. And he says he appreciates the chance to stick with the team that brought him to the NFL. "Because they know of my situation, the work environment is easier for me, because I'm around players that I know, that I care about, who care about me, and I'm around a coaching staff who cares about me." "And right now, in the situation I'm in, I need to be in an environment where I know people care about my well-being, and care about my family's well-being." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canton Mike Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 Even though they are a division rival, hats off to the Bengals for this. My Prayers are for little Leah, Devon, & the Family. God Bless. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calfoxwc Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 That is excellent. God bless him and his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcam222 Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 It's good to hear that amidst all the negative stories there are still great people. God bless the little girl , her family and the Bengals management who cared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenew23 Posted September 14, 2014 Report Share Posted September 14, 2014 The only positive NFL news amidst a bunch of crap... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimdawg Posted September 14, 2014 Report Share Posted September 14, 2014 I heard about this a few days ago, i beleive they've also activated him to the 53 man roster. The Bengals also are selling Stills jersey for $100 and 100% of the proceeds are going to the Cincinnati childrens hospital pediatric cancer care and research. I bought one yesterday and im gonna give it to my father in-law who is a huge bengals fan. Sean Peyton bought 100 of them! Good peeps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miktoxic Posted September 14, 2014 Report Share Posted September 14, 2014 yes. this deserves some type of league recognition. and recognition from all the talking head sports types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkside5 Posted September 14, 2014 Report Share Posted September 14, 2014 Hats off to the Bengals organization , very classy . My thoughts and prayers to the Still family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickers Posted September 14, 2014 Report Share Posted September 14, 2014 wtg Bungles...classy move... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browns149 Posted September 14, 2014 Report Share Posted September 14, 2014 yes. this deserves some type of league recognition. and recognition from all the talking head sports types. This feel good story will get very little attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kvoethe Posted September 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2014 They, the bengals, are also donating 100% of all Stills jersey sales to cincy hospital cancer research. Sean Peyton of saints bought 100 of them at 100 bucks each. Current total is over 400K in sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axe Posted September 15, 2014 Report Share Posted September 15, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clevfan4life Posted September 15, 2014 Report Share Posted September 15, 2014 bengals have always seemed to be a pretty decent organization. Never got the douche chills off of them like other teams, not just in our division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted September 15, 2014 Report Share Posted September 15, 2014 Good move by all concerned.......but I do have a question: Devon Still was considered to be a sure fire first round draft pick. When was he drafted? I thought very high. And how did his performance get him relegated to PS status if he was taken so high? Perhaps he was distracted by his daughter's situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kvoethe Posted September 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2014 I'm surprised the league isn't making a splash about this to divert attention from the light which is shining brightly on how corrupt and immoral the NFL really is. Because its a team thing...the Bengals, the NFL probably had no say, thus can take no credit. Thats my guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombo Posted September 15, 2014 Report Share Posted September 15, 2014 bengals have always seemed to be a pretty decent organization. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/flash/bengalscrime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour2ma Posted September 15, 2014 Report Share Posted September 15, 2014 Nice piece on this on ESPN's pre-game Sunday... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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