$27 million Deal: Lions signing massive, run-stuffing defensive tackle D.J. Reader.

After meeting with the Detroit Lions, D.J. Reader signed a contract.

On Thursday afternoon, the team and the seasoned defensive tackle agreed to a

two-year contract.

The arrangement was verified to The Detroit News by a league source who was

involved in the negotiations.

Bleacher Report claims that the transaction might be valued as high as $27 million.

According to the NFL Network, only $9 million is certain.

The 335-pound, 6-foot-3 player has the ability to significantly strengthen Detroit’s

defense at the center.

The eight-year veteran has quietly made consistent contributions as a

pocket-crushing pass rusher and is regarded as one of the league’s finest run-stuffers at the position.

Though he only has 9.5 career sacks, in his last three seasons with the Cincinnati

Bengals, he has forced at least 32 quarterback pressures.

Reader, a 2016 fifth-round draft selection out of Clemson, played his first four years

in Houston before agreeing to a big deal as a free agency ahead of the 2020 campaign

with Cincinnati.

Reader sustained a ruptured quadriceps in December of last season, from which he is

presently rehabilitating.

He has experienced the ailment twice in his career, although to separate legs this

time.

In 2022, he also missed six games due to a knee injury. He has played in at least 14

games in five of his eight seasons, despite significant durability issues.

Prior to the deal, the Lions were obviously pleased with the medical assessment on

his present injury.

In Detroit, Reader, a 96-game starter who averages over 40 snaps per week, will be

teamed with Alim McNeill.

After losing over thirty pounds in the offseason, the former third-round draft pick

had a breakout in his third season, recording five sacks in 13 games.

Detroit appears to have a strong run defense. The team just brought in veteran

defensive line coach Terrell Williams to head the defense line after they allowed 3.7

yards per rush, the fewest since 2014.

He has a track record of assembling some of the best groups in the league to stop the

run.

Reader’s contract is the highest the Lions have awarded an outside free agent, by

average annual cost,

in general manager Brad Holmes’ three years in charge. While the signing of

and longtime Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis may not necessarily signal the

end of the team’s spending during the current free-agent period, it is probably the

team’s final major addition.

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