'Dominant' DT D.J. Reader to visit Detroit Lions in free agency this week
The Detroit Lions are bringing one of the NFL's best run-stopping defensive tackles to town on a free agent visit.
NFL Network and Bleacher Report reported late Tuesday the Lions will host Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle D.J. Reader on Thursday.
Reader, who turns 30 in July, had 34 tackles and one sack last season, but finished the year on injured reserve with a torn right quad tendon.
In 2020, Reader missed most of the season with a torn left quad. In 2022, he missed six games with a knee injury.
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The Lions added depth to their defensive line at the start of free agency Monday, when they agreed to terms on a one-year contract with edge rusher Marcus Davenport.
After having one of the NFL's best run-stopping defenses last season, the Lions are looking for a second interior lineman to pair with Alim McNeill. Nose tackle Benito Jones will be a free agent at 4 p.m. Wednesday unless the Lions tender him an offer as a restricted free agent, and Brodric Martin and Levi Onwuzurike played bit roles as backups last year.
Reader, a fifth-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2016, was a two-time captain in Cincinnati and earned praise from Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo last season as the team's most consistent defensive player.
"D.J. is (a) hard guy to replace," Anarumo told Cincinnati reporters at the NFL combine, via Cincinnati Bengals Talk. "Hopefully we don't have to, but he's such a great locker room guy to start with and then just what he does inside, in the interior of the defense, he just controls blocks. It's a lot of things that people don't see. You can't look at D.J. Reader in that position and say let me look at his numbers. Even though he has good numbers for the position, he is just dominant when it comes to taking on blocks, taking on double teams and not getting moved. And that allows other people to make plays, and when you don't have that, it creates other issues."
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions free agency: DT D.J. Reader to visit this week
