Devon Still back with teammates for minicamp

Defensive tackle Devon Still  received some encouraging news in his daughter's battle against cancer, and as a result he made the trip to Cincinnati to join his teammates for minicamp.

Even though the minicamp is listed as mandatory, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said Still would have been excused had he elected to stay with Leah, who is battling Stage 4 neuroblastoma.

Still, who has missed all offseason activities to this point, said he considered skipping the minicamp, but after getting news that Leah's latest chemotherapy treatments are working as intended he wanted to be here.

"The doctors came in yesterday and said the medicine they are using for her complication is starting to kick in," Still said. "They are starting to see her liver go back down, so hopefully she should get out of the hospital in a couple more days or a week.”

Still called the last few months "crazy" with a mix of good news and bad news.

"Just with my daughter going in remission and then having to go through a stem cell transplant and then having such a bad complication, it was definitely an emotional rollercoaster, but that’s how last year was so we knew how to handle it," he said. "Then my daughter felt like she always did and started to bounce back from it.”

Still said he's lost 18 pounds and in the best shape he's ever been in, but Lewis said he will not participate in team drills because the team doesn't want to subject him to injury.

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