The Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle is looking forward to greeting New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton and shaking his hand before their game at the Superdome on Sunday. The two have never formally met, although they did chat briefly on the phone during a joint interview on ESPN’s “Mike & Mike” radio show in mid-September, one week after Payton purchased 100 of Still’s jerseys.

Payton was the first football personality with a name that resonated to participate in Still’s fundraising efforts. In the days that followed, others joined.

“You really can’t thank somebody the way you want to or are supposed to over the phone. It’s something you have to do face-to-face,” Still said.

In addition to Payton’s purchase, the Bengals sold nearly 15,000 of Still’s jerseys over slightly more than a month. All proceeds from Still’s $100 jersey went into a donation fund the Bengals collected. Last Thursday, during a check presentation in the middle of their prime-time game at home against the Browns, the Bengals gave the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center $1.3 million from their fundraising efforts.

All of the money will go toward pediatric cancer research efforts.

Since June 2, Still’s 4-year-old daughter, Leah, has been dealing with Stage 4 neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that gave her a 50-50 chance to live. She has since had surgery to remove the cancerous tumor from her body, although cancer still remains in parts of her chest and lower extremities. On Wednesday, she underwent a radiation procedure that her father hopes will be the only one she has to face. Results from the procedure could take up to six weeks to come back to doctors.

Leah’s fight has been in the national spotlight since the beginning of September, when the Bengals cut Still at the end of the preseason, only to add him back a day later as part of the practice squad. He has since been activated and has appeared in eight games. He has 17 tackles.

Payton said he was inspired to help when he heard about Still’s story on the radio while driving home.

“Over the years, having coached at Miami of Ohio, having spent time at the Bengals’ training camps as a guest and certainly our joint practices that we held in ’07, knowing [coach] Marvin [Lewis] for a long time … you get to know a group a little closer than other teams,” Payton told Cincinnati media this week. “Just hearing how they handled it all was pretty inspirational. It was really spontaneous and something I thought would be a good gesture.”

When Still and Payton were on “Mike & Mike,” the coach issued the reserve lineman one charge: “I’m a huge fan from afar, [though] I’ve never met you.

“When we play you down the road, now, we can’t have any sacks on [Drew] Brees.”

Still can’t promise that he’ll comply with that request. But he can promise to speak with emotion when he greets Payton on Sunday.

“Whatever comes to mind, whatever comes from my heart,” Still said.

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It’s all because his No. 1 cheerleader, the little girl whose story has captivated a nation the past two months, will be in attendance rooting for him and his teammates.

Leah Still, Devon’s 4-year-old daughter who is battling Stage 4 pediatric cancer, has gotten well enough to travel, Still said Monday afternoon. For the first time since her father was drafted by the Bengals in 2012, Leah will make the trek to Cincinnati and see him play in person.

“It’s going to be added motivation just knowing that my daughter is watching me,” a smiling Still said about playing Thursday. “I want her to be able to hear how the crowd cheers loud whenever I make a tackle, so I’m going to go out there and do whatever I can do to put a smile on her face.”

That’s been his mission since her June 2 diagnosis with neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer that has left her with a 50-50 chance to live. Leah already has had successful surgery to remove the cancerous tumor from her abdomen, but she still has several rounds of radiation, chemotherapy and stem-cell treatments before doctors know they have rid her of the disease. She is set to undergo another round of radiation next Monday.

From the late-September day the Bengals announced they would be giving a check for more than $1 million to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Leah’s name during this week’s game, Still has been hoping to get her healthy enough to be part of the celebration. Last week, it looked unclear as to whether or not she would be able to make it. She was losing weight, and rapidly, because of an adverse reaction to a feeding tube doctors had her hooked up to.

“They had to put a G-tube [gastronomic tube] inside her stomach because she wasn’t able to down the NG-tube [nasogastric tube] that was in her nose,” Still said. “They said a couple weeks ago that she lost about 10 pounds. That’s why we decided to go ahead with [the G-tube] procedure, so she could maintain her weight for when she starts radiation.”

At her lowest point, she got down to 34 pounds, he said. Now, she’s up to about 36 and making strides with proper weight gains.

Because of the last-minute nature of Leah’s recovery, the Bengals are still finalizing what her role may be in Thursday’s check presentation. Still is hopeful that she will join him on the field when the team gives the check for more than $1.25 million to the hospital for pediatric cancer research. The proceeds came from a jersey-sale donation drive the Bengals coordinated throughout September and October. The sale ended about two weeks ago, with the Bengals having sold nearly 15,000 of his Still’s No. 75 jerseys.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said in a “SportsCenter” feature that aired Sunday morning that he gave Still the No. 75 because former Steeler “Mean” Joe Greene wore that number.

“This is our Joe Greene, with Leah,” Lewis said.

Greene’s jersey was retired in Pittsburgh on Sunday night. His appearance galvanized the Steelers’ crowd in a 43-23 win over Baltimore, and the Bengals are hopeful Leah’s presence can do the same Thursday.

Her father wants the sight of her on the video board to get fans even more animated.

“I hope she gets the crowd going so that we have a lot of energy in that stadium and can come out with a win,” Still said.

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